Rigid-Flexible Liquid Container with Segmented Top Barrier
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing laboratory containers for liquid dispensing are complex and laborious to produce and fill, and their storage requires special precautions to prevent deformation of the top barrier.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a rigid bottom layer with a bowl-shaped cavity and a flexible top layer that seals the cavity without tearing, allowing for easy production, filling, and storage, and enabling reliable single-shot dispensing of the entire liquid content.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a dome-shaped deformable top barrier is used to enable liquid dispensing, then liquid can be dispensed from the container, but the production and filling becomes complex and laborious
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into a rigid bottom barrier and a separate deformable top barrier that can be independently handled. The top barrier is pre-formed as a separate component with a dome shape, allowing it to be produced independently using simpler processes before being assembled to the bottom barrier. This segmentation enables the deformable element to be manufactured separately with less complexity while maintaining its dispensing function.
Solution Approach 2:
The top barrier is pre-formed as a separate deformable component before assembly. This preliminary formation allows the complex dome shape to be created using optimized molding processes for the top barrier alone, rather than forming the entire container with the deformable section in one complex step. The pre-formed top barrier is then assembled to the rigid bottom barrier in a separate operation.
2Ease of operation
If a dome-shaped deformable top barrier is used for liquid dispensing, then liquid can be dispensed, but storage becomes unfavorable because the top barrier must be prevented from being pressed in
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the container into a rigid bottom barrier and a deformable top barrier that can be independently handled, the top barrier can be designed with inherent structural features that resist accidental compression during storage. The segmentation allows the top barrier to be optimized for both its dispensing function and its storage stability independently of the bottom barrier.
Solution Approach 2:
The top barrier employs a dome-shaped curved structure that provides inherent structural strength and resistance to external compression forces during storage. The spherical curvature distributes applied loads more evenly across the structure, making it more resistant to being pressed in during storage while still allowing controlled deformation during dispensing operation.
3Ease of manufacture
If the top layer is made of flexible material to enable sealing and deformation, then the container can be easily produced and filled, but the top layer must not tear when deformed against the cavity
Solution Approach 1:
The top layer is constructed as a flexible membrane or thin-walled structure made from elastomeric or plastic materials that possess high elastic properties. This flexible shell design allows the top layer to deform smoothly against the cavity walls during filling and dispensing operations while maintaining structural integrity. The flexible material naturally accommodates deformation without tearing by distributing stresses through its elastic properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The container employs a composite structure combining a rigid bottom barrier with a flexible top barrier made from different materials optimized for their specific functions. The top layer uses elastomeric or plastic materials selected for their combination of flexibility and tensile strength, creating a composite system where each material contributes its optimal properties - the rigid bottom provides structural support while the flexible top provides sealability and deformability without tearing.
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 container design simplifies production, filling, and storage while ensuring reliable single-shot dispensing of liquids, addressing the complexities and storage challenges of previous container designs.
Implementation Method 1
The top layer being made of a flexible material, whose material properties are as such that the top layer, when deformed can at least partially lay laminar against the inside if the cavity without tearing
Implementation Method 2
The welding can be done by pressing together and heating the top layer and the bottom layer
Data Source
AI summary
A container for a liquid to be dispensed has a bottom layer with a cavity defined by a closed perimeter wall with a connecting plate that adjoins the closed perimeter wall and extends in a single plane. A nozzle is provided in the closed perimeter wall in an area furthest away from the connecting plate. A top layer is sealingly attached to the connecting plate at least around the opening of the cavity. The bottom layer is made of a rigid material. The top layer is made of a flexible material. The material properties of the top layer are such that the top layer, when deformed, can at least partially lay laminar against the inside of the cavity without tearing.