Two-Piece Foam Piston Pump with Integrated Vacuum Relief
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing piston pumps for dispensing fluid from containers face challenges such as vacuum relief inefficiencies due to air vent passageway usage of bottle neck cross-sectional area and inconsistent foam quality, and require multiple components for the piston and chamber elements, complicating manufacture and increasing costs.
Innovation Solution
A piston pump design featuring a piston chamber-forming member with a tubular structure and center post, and a piston-forming element with a hollow stem and annular members, allowing for simultaneous liquid and air discharge with improved mixing and reduced component complexity through injection molding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a one-way air vent vacuum relief valve structure is formed by the piston chamber-forming member, then vacuum relief function is provided, but the cross-sectional area of the bottle neck is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention relocates the vacuum relief function from the horizontal plane (bottle neck cross-section) to the vertical dimension (chamber above the liquid level). The air vent passageway extends upward into the chamber space, allowing vacuum relief without consuming valuable lateral neck area, thus resolving the contradiction between providing vacuum relief and preserving bottle neck cross-sectional area.
2Reliability
If multiple components are used for piston-forming element and piston chamber-forming member, then advantageous operational characteristics are achieved, but manufacture is complicated and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention combines the piston-forming element and piston chamber-forming member into a single unitary component formed by injection molding. The internal geometry includes both the chamber space and the piston structure integrated together, eliminating the need for separate parts while maintaining the functional advantages of the piston-chamber interaction. This resolves the contradiction by merging components to simplify manufacture and reduce costs while preserving operational characteristics.
3Productivity
If air and liquid are simultaneously discharged through a passageway, then foam is created, but foam quality varies during discharge stroke
Solution Approach 1:
The invention creates dynamic, variable-volume compartments for liquid and air separated by the movable piston. As the piston moves during the discharge stroke, it automatically adjusts the volumes of the liquid compartment and air compartment, maintaining optimal proportions for consistent foam quality throughout the entire discharge cycle. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between simultaneous discharge and foam quality consistency.
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 design effectively relieves vacuum without using bottle neck area and enhances foam consistency by improving air and liquid mixing, while simplifying manufacturing by using fewer components.
Implementation Method 1
The flow space provides about the outlet of the channel a restriction to flow axially through the flow space which increases the velocity of fluid flowing axially outwardly through the flow space and assists in increasing the mixing of the air with liquid in the restriction of the flow space
Data Source
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AI summary
A piston pump for dispersing fluid from a reservoir, an improved vacuum relief arrangement in which a passageway for flow of air from the atmosphere into the reservoir is provided at least in part through the piston- forming element of the piston pump.