Spray head assembly with interior rises, depressions, and orifices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Beverage making machines face issues with lime and mineral deposits accumulating in and around the orifices of the spray head assembly, leading to reduced water flow and quality of brewed beverages due to evaporation and clogging, which requires frequent and costly cleaning.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates depressions in the spray head assembly to collect residual water, preventing evaporation and mineral buildup on orifices, and features a non-planar surface with rises and depressions to facilitate capillary action and drainage, reducing mineral deposits and maintaining flow efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a flat spray head surface is used, then manufacturing is simple, but mineral deposits accumulate on orifices due to water evaporation
Solution Approach 1:
The spray head surface is designed with varying local properties: depressions with slopes less than 45 degrees to collect and retain water, and areas around orifices with slopes greater than 45 degrees to promote drainage. This local differentiation prevents mineral accumulation at orifices while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through molding techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
The design transitions from a two-dimensional flat surface to a three-dimensional contoured surface with rises and depressions. This dimensional change creates water collection zones that prevent evaporation at orifices, eliminating mineral deposit accumulation while remaining manufacturable through standard molding processes.
2Reliability
If routine cleaning is performed to remove mineral deposits, then orifice flow is restored, but operational time is lost and cleaning costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spray head surface geometry is designed in advance to prevent mineral deposit accumulation before it occurs. By creating depressions that collect water and prevent evaporation at orifices, the design proactively eliminates the root cause of clogging, eliminating the need for routine cleaning and associated time losses.
3Productivity
If heated water is used for brewing, then beverage quality improves, but mineral deposit formation is accelerated
Solution Approach 1:
The design accepts that heated water accelerates mineral deposition but converts this harmful effect into a beneficial outcome by designing depressions that actively collect and retain heated water. The heat that would normally accelerate evaporation and mineral formation at orifices is instead utilized to maintain water in collection zones, preventing deposit accumulation while preserving brewing quality.
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 solution minimizes mineral deposits and maintains consistent water flow, reducing maintenance costs and improving the quality of brewed beverages by preventing evaporation and clogging in the spray head orifices.
Implementation Method 1
features a non-planar surface with rises and depressions to facilitate capillary action and drainage
Implementation Method 2
provides depressions in which the residual water can reside at the end of a brewing cycle, preventing or minimizing the water from drying/evaporating on top of the orifices
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a spray head assembly for a beverage making machine comprising a mounting for connection to a flow of liquid from a reservoir or other water source and a surface for joining to a spray head. A face portion of the spray head has an interior surface with relative rises and depressions or hills and valleys. Orifices are located generally at the peak of a hill with valleys being defined between neighboring hills.