Retractable Spout Closure with Mesh Flame Mitigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flame mitigation devices for flammable liquids in containers with narrow necks or outlets are often permanently affixed, leading to issues like slow fluid flow, clogging, and difficulty in recycling due to mixed materials, especially when integrated with selectively extendible spouts.
Innovation Solution
A polymeric cylindrical guard is snap-fitted within the flexible spout, combined with a mesh insert and specific dimensional ratios, allowing for a retractable spout that meets regulatory standards without requiring heat staking or adhesives, ensuring effective flame mitigation and recyclability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If flame mitigation devices are permanently affixed to the container neck, then flame propagation is prevented, but fluid flow becomes slow and apertures may become clogged
Solution Approach 1:
The flame mitigation device is divided into a removable screen assembly that can be separated from the container neck, allowing the screen to be cleaned or replaced without discarding the entire closure system. The screen is segmented into multiple apertures that can be individually optimized for flow while maintaining flame arrest capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure system transitions from a static permanently affixed screen to a dynamic removable and reconfigurable screen assembly that can be adapted based on filling requirements and maintenance needs, optimizing both safety and fluid flow performance.
2Ease of manufacture
If flame mitigation devices are integrally formed with the container, then manufacturing is simplified, but filling becomes problematic due to slow flow and clogging
Solution Approach 1:
The closure system is segmented into separable components including the container neck, closure body, and screen assembly. This allows the screen to be optimally designed for flame mitigation while the closure can be efficiently filled before final assembly, resolving the conflict between manufacturing simplicity and filling efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The container is filled before the screen assembly is attached to the closure, allowing rapid filling operations to occur without the screen in place, thereby maintaining high filling speeds while still achieving flame mitigation through proper final assembly.
3Strength
If metallic elements are affixed to the container for spout extension, then structural strength is improved, but flame mitigation becomes impossible due to material incompatibility
Solution Approach 1:
Different portions of the closure system use different materials optimized for their specific functions: polymeric materials are used where flame mitigation is required (screen, closure body), while metallic elements are used only in the coupling ring for mechanical strength in the spout extension mechanism, with each material placed locally where its properties are most beneficial.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure system employs asymmetric material distribution with polymeric components dominating the flame-contact areas and metallic components confined to the mechanical coupling portion, creating a functionally optimized asymmetric structure that satisfies both strength and flame mitigation requirements.
4Adaptability or versatility
If closures with integrated spouts are made from resilient flexible polymers, then spout extension and retraction is enabled, but flame mitigation devices cannot be effectively integrated
Solution Approach 1:
The closure system merges the flexible polymeric spout mechanism with a rigid closure body that houses the flame mitigation screen, creating a hybrid structure where the flexible portion provides extendibility and the rigid portion provides flame arrest, combining the benefits of both material types in a single integrated system.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigid closure body acts as an intermediary between the flexible spout and the container, providing a structural platform that supports the flame mitigation screen while allowing the flexible spout to extend and retract, thereby mediating between the conflicting requirements of flexibility and flame mitigation.
5Strength
If heat staking or adhesives are used to attach flame mitigation devices, then attachment strength is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The closure system employs self-contained components that attach through simple mechanical means without requiring additional fastening operations. The screen assembly is designed to be retained by the closure structure itself, eliminating the need for external adhesives or heat staking processes and thereby reducing manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment function is extracted from the flame mitigation device itself and transferred to the closure structure, allowing the screen to be a simple, lightweight component that relies on the closure body for retention rather than requiring self-contained attachment mechanisms.
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 provides a cost-effective, recyclable, and efficient flame mitigation system that meets regulatory standards, ensuring safe fluid flow and preventing flame propagation, while allowing for easy attachment to existing container necks.
Implementation Method 1
a flame mitigating mesh element spaced apart from the outlet... effective flame mitigation
Implementation Method 2
mesh element... preventing flame propagation
Implementation Method 3
cylindrical guard... snap-fitted within the flexible spout, combined with a mesh insert
Data Source
AI summary
Flame mitigation system for retractable/extendible spout formed in a closure is described. The system meets applicable regulatory requirements and includes a flame mitigating mesh element in a rigid spout section immediately above a flexible section that extends and retracts. A tamper evident panel is disposed above the mesh, while a removable cap can be affixed to the rigid spout. An optional, snap-fitting cylindrical guard may also be used. In each instance, the precise positioning of selected elements and inner diameter and axial travel distance of selected elements can be determinative of the system's ability to pass the regulatory requirements.