Puncturable Cartridge Delivery Wall With Flow-Gap Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cartridges for preparing liquid food, such as infant formula, face challenges in ensuring consistent dissolution of ingredients and controlled flow of liquid, often resulting in uneven concentration and potential contamination due to uncontrolled flow paths and membrane collapse.
Innovation Solution
The cartridge design incorporates a support structure with a puncturable delivery wall and a puncturing structure that includes protrusions and ridges to maintain a flow gap and prevent membrane collapse, ensuring a controlled and homogeneous liquid flow through multiple outlets, supported by a disc or dome-shaped surface to maintain the membrane and guide the liquid flow effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the delivery wall is made puncturable to allow delayed opening, then complete dissolution of ingredients is achieved, but uncontrolled flow paths and membrane collapse occur causing contamination and blocking
Solution Approach 1:
A support structure acts as an intermediary element between the delivery wall and the liquid flow path. This support structure prevents membrane collapse while allowing controlled flow through multiple outlets, eliminating the harmful effects of uncontrolled flow paths and contamination without compromising the delayed opening function for complete ingredient dissolution
Solution Approach 2:
The delivery system is segmented into multiple outlets distributed across the delivery wall rather than a single opening. This segmentation allows the liquid flow to be divided into multiple controlled streams, preventing blocking and contamination while maintaining the delayed opening mechanism for complete dissolution
2Reliability
If pressure is built up in the chamber to delay opening, then sufficient interaction between water and substance is achieved, but powerful jets and high velocity flows are created causing uncontrolled delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The single high-velocity flow path is segmented into multiple outlets, distributing the liquid flow across several streams. This reduces the velocity and kinetic energy of each individual jet, preventing uncontrolled delivery and splashing while maintaining the pressure build-up necessary for complete ingredient dissolution
Solution Approach 2:
The support structure serves as a mediator that modulates the liquid flow emerging from the punctured delivery wall. It controls and dampens the high-velocity jets created by pressure build-up, converting them into controlled, lower-velocity flows that deliver liquid smoothly without splashing or uncontrolled delivery
3Productivity
If the delivery wall opens early to allow flow, then rapid delivery is achieved, but incomplete dissolution leaves dry ingredient and reduces concentration
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by maintaining pressure build-up and delayed opening until complete dissolution of ingredients is achieved. The support structure is pre-configured to enable this delayed opening while ensuring that when flow occurs, multiple outlets distribute the liquid for consistent concentration, achieving both complete dissolution and reliable delivery
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
This design ensures consistent and controlled liquid flow, preventing blockages and contamination, while ensuring complete dissolution of ingredients before release, maintaining the required concentration and texture of the final liquid product.
Implementation Method 1
water filling the chamber under pressure
Implementation Method 2
interaction between water and the ingredients in the cartridge, e.g., mixing, brewing or dilution
Implementation Method 3
the delivery membrane ruptures
Implementation Method 4
support structure comprising at least one support surface configured to support at least one portion of the delivery wall to maintain a flow gap between the puncture structure and the at least one outlet
Data Source
AI summary
A cartridge (1) containing a food substance adapted to interact with water injected in the cartridge to produce a food liquid comprising: a cup (2) having a chamber for holding the food substance (10) and a lid (7), a puncturable delivery wall (8) that holds the substance in the chamber, a puncturing structure (11) to puncture at least one opening in the delivery wall as a response of water filling the chamber, a collecting area (5) for collecting the liquid passing through the delivery wall in a substantially axial direction; said collecting area being placed downstream the puncturable delivery wall (8), at least one liquid outlet (15) in the collecting area for allowing the liquid to leave the collecting area, wherein the cartridge comprises a support structure (12) comprising at least one support surface (14, 17, 18, 19) configured to support at least one portion of the delivery wall to maintain a flow gap between the puncture structure (11) and the at least one outlet (15).