One-Piece Pump Hinge for Assembly Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid dispensing pumps for consumer products, such as razors, have complex and costly manufacturing processes due to the need for individual components that require manual assembly and dedicated molds, leading to increased production time and expense.
Innovation Solution
A one-piece pump design utilizing a hinge to align and seal pump elements, made from rigid or flexible plastics, which simplifies assembly and manufacturing by allowing components to be formed from a single mold, reducing costs and eliminating misalignment risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If multiple individual components are used to assemble the pump, then the pump can be manufactured with separate dedicated molds for each component, but the assembly process becomes complex and time-consuming requiring manual alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate pump components (body, cap, and at least one additional component) into a single integrated pump housing formed from one piece. This eliminates the need for separate dedicated molds for each component and removes manual assembly steps, directly resolving the contradiction between manufacturing flexibility and assembly complexity.
2Reliability
If multiple individual components are assembled manually, then each component can be optimized independently, but production time and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating multiple components into a single one-piece housing, the patent eliminates manual assembly operations, directly increasing production efficiency. The single-mold manufacturing process maintains component optimization through integrated design features while eliminating the time-consuming manual alignment and assembly steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge features and alignment structures are pre-formed as integral parts of the one-piece housing during the molding process. This preliminary formation of alignment features eliminates the need for subsequent manual alignment operations, thereby increasing productivity while ensuring proper component positioning.
3Ease of manufacture
If separate components are used, then each component can be manufactured independently, but the alignment precision between components decreases due to manual assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple components into a single one-piece housing, which inherently ensures precise alignment of all internal features. The hinge features, sealing surfaces, and component positions are all formed with high precision in a single molding operation, eliminating the alignment errors that occur with manual assembly of separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The one-piece housing design makes the alignment function self-service, as the precise positioning of internal components is automatically achieved through the integrated structure and pre-formed hinge features, without requiring external alignment operations or skilled manual assembly.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple dedicated molds are used for each component, then each component can be manufactured separately, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the function of multiple dedicated molds into a single molding operation that produces the complete pump housing in one piece. This eliminates the need for multiple expensive mold sets and the associated tooling costs, directly reducing manufacturing cost while maintaining design flexibility through integrated features.
Data Source
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AI summary
This invention relates to a novel one-piece pump or fluid dispensing apparatus having at least one hinge. The hinge allows for a streamlined manufacturing process which provides increased cost effectiveness. In addition, the hinge serves to orient or align the pump elements for easy, economical assembly of the finished device. The hinge may include one or more hinge elements or linkages.