Push-Button Dispensing Closure for Viscous Product Dosing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensing closures fail to effectively manage the flow of viscous products, such as laundry care products, by not allowing for controlled dispensing and recharging, especially when transitioning between open and closed positions.
Innovation Solution
A push-button dispensing closure with a movable piston and dosing chamber, where the piston defines part of the dosing chamber and includes dispensing apertures, allowing for controlled flow and recharging, and a vent path for air release, enabling efficient dispensing of viscous products with varying viscosities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional dispensing closure is used, then the structure is simple, but it fails to effectively control the flow of viscous products during transitions between open and closed positions
Solution Approach 1:
The closure system employs a mobile piston that transitions between positions based on closure state. The piston moves dynamically between a first position (allowing product flow) and a second position (blocking product flow), enabling adaptive flow control that responds to closure transitions. This dynamic mechanism ensures reliable dispensing of viscous products by actively managing the flow path rather than relying on passive structural features.
Solution Approach 2:
The internal flow path is segmented into distinct zones: a dosing chamber, a product tunnel, and a dispensing orifice. The mobile piston acts as a movable separator between these zones, controlling product movement between them. This segmentation allows independent management of different flow stages (filling, dispensing, sealing), improving flow control reliability without requiring the entire closure structure to be complex.
2Manufacturing precision
If a mobile piston with dispensing apertures is used, then precise control over viscous product flow is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The piston features localized dispensing apertures positioned at specific locations on its surface. These apertures provide precisely controlled flow paths for viscous products, enabling metered dispensing. The local quality of the piston design (specific aperture placement and sizing) achieves flow control precision without requiring the entire piston structure to be complex, as only specific regions need sophisticated features.
Solution Approach 2:
The system controls product flow by changing the position parameter of the mobile piston along its movement axis. By varying the piston's position between the first and second positions, the system adjusts the flow state from open to closed. This parameter-based control (position variation) achieves precise flow management for viscous products through a relatively simple translational motion rather than complex mechanical linkages.
3Manufacturing precision
If the closure is designed for controlled dispensing of viscous products, then dispensing precision is improved, but the ease of operation may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile piston system operates automatically in response to closure state changes. When the closure transitions between open and closed positions, the piston self-adjusts to the appropriate flow state without requiring separate manual control. This self-service mechanism maintains dispensing precision while simplifying user interaction, as the system autonomously manages the complex flow control functions based on simple closure operations.
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 solution allows for precise control over the dispensing and recharging of viscous products, ensuring consistent flow and preventing product leakage during closure transitions, effectively addressing the challenges of managing high to medium-high viscosity products.
Implementation Method 1
The button may formed from a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material... the push button is resilient and deformable to move the piston from the sealing position to the dispensing position
Implementation Method 2
a vent path for allowing the dosing chamber to vent as the closure moves from the open position back to the closed position
Data Source
AI summary
A push-button dispensing closure is provided and comprises a dispensing passage, a push button and a dosing chamber. The closure is movable between a first, closed position in which: the push button is released, the dosing chamber can fill with flowable product, and product cannot pass from the dosing chamber to the dispensing passage; and a second, open position in which: the push button is depressed such that product can flow from the dosing chamber through the dispensing passage and product cannot flow into the dosing chamber.