Pump Dispenser Piercing Protrusion for Contactless Refill
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pump dispensers for oral, personal, or home care products require users to directly handle the product during refilling, leading to potential contamination, and the refill containers are often bulky and inefficient in material usage.
Innovation Solution
A pump dispenser system featuring a container with a protrusion for piercing a refill container, allowing for refilling without direct contact and using a water-soluble refill container that dissolves to facilitate product dispensing, reducing material usage and bulk.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users manually refill the pump dispenser by handling the product, then the refilling operation can be completed, but the user's hands come into contact with the product requiring additional hand washing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary refilling mechanism where a refill container is inserted into the pump dispenser body. The product is transferred from the refill container to the pump chamber through a controlled interface, allowing users to refill without direct hand contact with the product. The refill container acts as a mediator between the user and the product, eliminating the need for post-refilling hand washing.
2Quantity of substance
If traditional refill containers are used, then the product can be stored and refilled, but the containers are bulky and require large quantities of material
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs thin-walled refill containers made from flexible materials that can be collapsed as product is dispensed. These thin-film containers significantly reduce material usage compared to traditional rigid plastic bottles, while maintaining sufficient structural integrity to hold and dispense the product. The flexible nature allows the container to be compressed, reducing bulk and material requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The refill containers are designed as disposable, single-use units that are inexpensive to manufacture. Rather than durable, long-lasting containers, the patent utilizes economical, throwaway refill units that minimize material investment per refill cycle, reducing overall material consumption and waste.
3Loss of substance
If the refill container body is made thin-walled to reduce material usage, then material consumption is minimized, but the container requires piercing for product dispensing
Solution Approach 1:
The pump dispenser body includes a pre-formed piercing element or opening mechanism that is ready before the refill container is inserted. The thin-walled container is designed with a specific piercable location that aligns with this pre-prepared piercing mechanism, allowing for easy, tool-free opening without requiring complex user actions or additional tools.
Solution Approach 2:
The piercing mechanism is integrated into the pump dispenser body itself, allowing the container to be opened automatically or with minimal user intervention. The system performs the piercing action autonomously when the refill container is inserted, eliminating the need for separate opening tools or complex manual operations.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a container for a pump dispenser, the container including: a body defining a chamber for storing a product and defining an opening at a first end of the chamber through which the product is dispensable from the chamber; and a protrusion extending from the body into the chamber at a second end of the chamber opposite from the first end of the chamber, the protrusion having a sharp distal end in the chamber. Also disclosed is a refill container including a body enveloping a cavity storing an oral, personal or home care composition, wherein the composition includes water in an amount of less than 98% by weight, based on a total weight of the composition.