Pierceable Dispenser Closure with Variable-Thickness Membrane
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensing containers with pierceable membranes face issues with leakage and security due to the limitations of using plastic materials and foil closures, which stretch, dimple, and tear upon piercing, and struggle to provide a reliable seal when a dispensing nozzle is integrated with the throat opening.
Innovation Solution
A dispensing container design featuring an intermediate cap with a molded plastic membrane and a nozzle cap assembly that includes a recessed membrane for edge sealing, where the membrane is thicker at the periphery and thinner at the center, allowing a piercing pin to stretch and pierce through while maintaining a secure seal, and an overcap with a moveable plunger pin for controlled dispensing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a plastic container with a pierceable membrane closure is used, then the container can be securely sealed to protect contents from environmental degradation, but the plastic material stretches, dimples, and tears when pierced, compromising the seal reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The membrane is designed with non-uniform thickness, being thicker at the periphery and thinner at the center. This local variation in thickness allows the center to pierce easily while maintaining peripheral integrity for sealing, resolving the contradiction between ease of piercing and seal reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The membrane's physical parameters (thickness distribution) are optimized to change from the center to the periphery. This parameter change enables the membrane to be both easily pierceable at the center and reliably sealing at the periphery, addressing the contradiction between piercing ease and seal integrity.
2Reliability
If a foil closure is used at the throat opening, then the contents are protected from environmental degradation, but the available surface for attachment is limited to the annulus at the neck top, reducing attachment security and seal quality
Solution Approach 1:
The closure system is segmented into multiple functional zones: the membrane provides sealing protection, while the intermediate cap structure provides attachment surface area. This segmentation allows each component to optimize its specific function without being constrained by the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment surface is extended from the two-dimensional annulus at the neck top to a three-dimensional intermediate cap structure with external threads. This dimensional expansion provides significantly more attachment surface area while maintaining the sealing function of the membrane.
3Device complexity
If the dispensing nozzle is integrated with the throat opening, then the structure is simplified, but the seal between the nozzle and container is limited to the annulus area, creating leakage paths
Solution Approach 1:
An intermediate cap is introduced as a mediator between the container throat and the dispensing nozzle. This intermediate component provides additional sealing surfaces and attachment area, eliminating leakage paths while maintaining structural integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediate cap is nested within the existing container and nozzle structure, fitting into the throat opening and providing additional sealing functionality without significantly increasing overall device complexity.
4Ease of operation
If the membrane is made thinner for easier piercing, then the piercing operation becomes easier, but the membrane becomes more susceptible to tearing and less effective at sealing
Solution Approach 1:
The membrane thickness is varied locally, with the center being thinner for easy piercing and the periphery being thicker for effective sealing. This local quality differentiation allows the membrane to satisfy both piercing ease and sealing effectiveness requirements simultaneously.
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 design provides a secure and leak-resistant seal, extending the shelf life of the contents both before and after opening, by utilizing the elasticity of the plastic membrane to reseal effectively and prevent environmental degradation.
Implementation Method 1
the membrane has a modulus of elasticity such that the opening formed by piercing of the membrane by the pin has a free state dimension less than the cross section dimension of the largest portion of the pin to have passed into the membrane
Data Source
AI summary
A dispensing container having a neck with a throat opening closed by a cap having a pierceable membrane adjacent atop of the cap, the cap having a dispensing nozzle with a lumen therethrough and an overcap for enclosing the dispensing nozzle having a moveable plunger pin extending into the lumen of the nozzle and moveable therein to pierce the membrane.