Refillable Dispenser Venting Assembly to Prevent Filling Leakage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refillable dispensers suffer from fluid product discharge through venting valves during filling, soilage issues, and cumbersome multi-step unscrewing/screwing operations, as well as potential leakage due to gravity-actuated valves.
Innovation Solution
A refillable dispenser assembly with a threaded sleeve that screws onto a standard bottle, integrating a controllable filling and venting system with a manually or automatically actuated valve, allowing fluid flow by gravity and air evacuation without soilage, and featuring a one-piece design for easy connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a venting valve is used to evacuate air during filling, then air evacuation is achieved, but fluid product is discharged through the venting valve causing soilage
Solution Approach 1:
The filling and venting system is divided into separate functional pathways: a filling conduit for fluid transfer and a venting conduit for air evacuation. The venting conduit includes a venting valve that can be selectively opened to allow air to escape while the filling conduit remains sealed, preventing fluid discharge through the venting path.
Solution Approach 2:
The venting valve is designed to be dynamically controllable, allowing it to be opened only during the air evacuation phase and closed during filling. This dynamic control ensures that the venting pathway is active only when needed for air removal, preventing fluid leakage while maintaining effective venting functionality.
2Ease of manufacture
If the dispensing head is removed for filling, then the filling system can be attached, but two unscrewing and two screwing operations are required
Solution Approach 1:
The filling system is designed with a universal threaded connection that attaches directly to the bottle neck without requiring removal of the dispensing head. The system performs multiple functions through a single attachment operation: sealing the bottle, providing fluid transfer pathway, and enabling venting functionality, eliminating the need for repeated assembly and disassembly.
3Extent of automation
If a gravity-actuated valve is used, then automatic opening is achieved, but the refillable dispenser may leak when tilted or knocked over
Solution Approach 1:
The valve mechanism transitions from a static gravity-dependent design to a dynamic controlled system. The valve is actuated by the threading motion itself during attachment, and its closure is controlled by a resilient element that responds to pressure changes rather than gravity alone, making the system reliable regardless of orientation or external disturbances.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve system incorporates pressure feedback through the resilient element that detects pressure changes in the sealed chamber. When the filling system is properly attached and sealed, the pressure feedback mechanism ensures the valve remains closed, and only opens in response to controlled pressure changes during the filling process, preventing leakage from tilting or knocking.
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
Facilitates efficient, soil-free filling and venting without leakage, reducing operational complexity and fluid loss, while ensuring secure attachment and controlled fluid transfer.
Implementation Method 1
so that the fluid product in the source bottle can flow by gravity from the source bottle into the reservoir
Implementation Method 2
the controllable valve being manually actuated, by an axial movement along the longitudinal axis X induced by a traction or a rotation, between a closed state and an open state
Implementation Method 3
a spring acting between the fixed part and the movable part so as to urge the valve member towards the valve seat
Implementation Method 4
the fixed part and the movable part together defining a cam system capable of generating a relative axial movement along the longitudinal axis of the fixed part relative to the movable part by the relative rotation of the fixed part relative to the movable part
Data Source
AI summary
An assembly having a source bottle and a refillable dispenser, the source bottle having a body and a threaded neck formed of one-piece, the refillable dispenser having a dispensing head and a filling and venting system, the refillable dispenser having a reservoir, The refillable dispenser has a threaded sleeve that can be screwed onto the threaded neck, thereby enabling the filling and venting system to be connected to the body, so that the fluid product in the source bottle can gravitationally flow from the source bottle into the reservoir through the filling and venting system, while the air from the reservoir can simultaneously flow from the reservoir into the source bottle through the filling and venting system.