Spring-Loaded Bottle Cap for Upside-Down Leak-Free Dispensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Squeeze bottles with upside-down orientation often experience leakage issues due to liquid adhering to inner surfaces, making complete discharge challenging, and existing solutions fail to prevent leaks while allowing air re-entry to restore the bottle's shape.
Innovation Solution
A leak-free bottle cap with a threaded mounting section, spring-loaded nozzle, and spring-loaded plugs that create a liquid-tight seal when the bottle is upside-down, allowing liquid discharge only upon squeezing and repressurizing with air when pressure is released.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the bottle is stored upside-down to ensure complete dispensing, then the liquid content moves toward the output nozzle due to gravity, but leakage occurs into the cap or from the periphery
Solution Approach 1:
The cap assembly is divided into multiple functional components: a body portion, a dispensing assembly with nozzle, and a sealing assembly with plug. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function - the sealing assembly prevents leakage while the dispensing assembly enables complete dispensing when the bottle is upside-down
Solution Approach 2:
A sealing assembly with a plug acts as an intermediary between the bottle opening and the external environment. The plug, positioned within the nozzle, creates a liquid-tight seal that prevents leakage into the cap while still allowing the bottle to be stored upside-down for complete dispensing
2Object-generated harmful factors
If a seal is created to prevent leakage when upside-down, then leakage is prevented, but air cannot enter the bottle to restore its original form after squeezing
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing assembly is designed to be dynamically adjustable. The plug can be positioned to create a liquid-tight seal for leakage prevention during storage, and can be moved or opened to allow air entry for repressurization after squeezing. This dynamic capability resolves the contradiction between maintaining a seal and allowing air exchange
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing assembly changes its sealing parameter based on operational requirements. When the bottle is squeezed, the plug moves to open the seal, allowing air to enter and restore the bottle's original form. When not in use, the plug returns to create a tight seal, preventing leakage during upside-down storage
3Ease of manufacture
If the cap structure is simplified for ease of manufacture, then manufacturing cost decreases, but leakage prevention capability is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The cap is segmented into modular components (body, dispensing assembly, sealing assembly) that can be manufactured separately using standard processes and then assembled. This segmentation maintains manufacturing simplicity while enabling the complex function of leakage prevention through the coordinated action of the modular components
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
Prevents leakage during upside-down storage and ensures complete discharge of viscous liquids while allowing the bottle to repressurize, maintaining a seal and facilitating easy storage and use.
Implementation Method 1
A spring-loaded nozzle may include a nozzle and a first resilient spiral spring. An exemplary first resilient spiral spring may be configured to connect an exemplary second end of an exemplary threaded mounting section to an outer surface of an exemplary nozzle.
Implementation Method 2
A first spring-loaded plug may be configured to seal the nozzle when the bottle is not in use and is stored upside-down.
Implementation Method 3
when the bottle is not in use, the liquid content may always move toward an output nozzle of the bottle near the cap, due to the force of gravity
Implementation Method 4
allows air to enter the squeeze bottle, after a user squeezes the bottle, to help quickly restore the bottle to its initial form
Data Source
AI summary
A bottle cap may include a threaded mounting section configured to be screwed to an outlet port of the squeeze bottle from a first end of the threaded mounting section, a spring-loaded nozzle attached to a second opposing end of the threaded mounting section, where the spring-loaded nozzle includes a nozzle and a first resilient spiral spring connecting the second end of the threaded mounting section to an outer surface of the nozzle. The bottle cap may further include a first spring-loaded plug mounted within the threaded mounting section between the opening of the squeeze bottle and the inlet port of the nozzle. The first spring-loaded plug may include a first plug attached to an inner surface of the threaded mounting section utilizing a second resilient spiral spring. The first plug is configured to sit on a peripheral ledge of the inlet port of the nozzle.