Sprayable Personal Lubricant Composition Viscosity Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing personal lubricant products are messy to apply and often require direct hand application, with many being unsuitable for spraying due to high viscosity, which results in uneven distribution and loss of lubricity when thinned for sprayability.
Innovation Solution
The development of personal lubricant compositions with specific physical characteristics, including a conical spray pattern and low viscosity (less than 250 cps), allowing for controlled, uniform application to a defined target area while maintaining sufficient lubricity, using a combination of polyhydric alcohols like polyethylene glycol and fatty acid esters, and potentially including preservatives and local anesthetics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If personal lubricant composition is diluted to reduce viscosity for sprayability, then the composition becomes sprayable, but the composition loses lubricity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical-chemical parameters of the lubricant composition by selecting specific polyhydric alcohols (ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, butylene glycol) with controlled molecular weights and viscosity ranges (50-500 cP at 25°C). The composition maintains a water content of 0-20% and achieves a balanced viscosity of 50-500 cP, enabling sprayability while preserving lubricity through optimized molecular structure rather than simple dilution
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite lubricant system combining multiple polyhydric alcohols with specific molecular weights in defined ratios. This composite approach allows the composition to exhibit both sprayability (lower viscosity components) and lubricity (higher viscosity components) simultaneously, resolving the contradiction between these two properties
2Reliability
If personal lubricant has high viscosity to maintain lubricity, then the composition provides sufficient lubrication, but the composition cannot be sprayed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the viscosity parameter to a specific range of 50-500 cP at 25°C, which is the critical threshold enabling both sprayability and adequate lubricity. This parameter optimization allows the composition to flow through spray mechanisms while maintaining sufficient lubricating film formation on target surfaces
3Ease of operation
If lubricant is sprayed in a stream rather than atomized, then the composition is easier to dispense, but the distribution is not uniform over the target area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the atomization mechanism which involves mechanical disruption of the liquid stream into fine droplets. The spray mechanism creates a conical spray pattern through mechanical action that breaks up the composition into uniformly distributed droplets, ensuring even coverage of the target area while maintaining ease of dispensing
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
Enables a controlled, sprayable, and lubricious application to specific areas, preventing unwanted application to non-target surfaces and maintaining lubricity, suitable for intimate contact and other uses.
Implementation Method 1
Spraying a composition can be accomplished in one or more ways... Other products which require both sprayability and lubricity may be conveniently made in accordance with the compositions and methods of this invention
Implementation Method 2
Personal lubricant compositions comprising from about 80% to about 98% by weight of a polyhydric alcohol and from about 2% to about 20% by weight of water
Data Source
AI summary
This invention relates to personal lubricant compositions that are capable of being sprayed to a targeted area while maintaining lubricity.