Vacuum-Actuated Ingredient Release Closure for Beverage Mixing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing packaged bottled beverage closures face challenges in ensuring quick and efficient release of additives into the beverage, particularly with higher viscosity additives, due to obstructive configurations that hinder flow rates and lead to spillage and incomplete mixing.
Innovation Solution
A packaged bottled beverage system that utilizes a vacuum mechanism by applying compression to the container during capping, creating a pressure differential to efficiently draw additives from a sealed compartment into the beverage, minimizing residual additive and ensuring thorough mixing without spillage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an ingredient release closure with a sealed compartment is used to store additives, then the additive can be kept separate from the base beverage to maintain freshness, but the additive flow rate is reduced due to obstructive configurations in the release mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The closure is divided into separate functional zones: a sealed compartment for additive storage and a release mechanism with minimized obstructions. This segmentation allows the additive to remain isolated until release while ensuring rapid flow when discharged, resolving the contradiction between freshness maintenance and flow rate.
Solution Approach 2:
The additive is extracted from the main beverage container and stored in a separate sealed compartment within the closure. This extraction maintains beverage freshness by preventing premature mixing, while the release mechanism is designed to rapidly discharge the extracted additive when needed.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If a frangible seal or plunger mechanism is used to release the additive, then the additive can be released before closure detachment to minimize spillage, but the release mechanism creates obstructions that slow down additive elimination
Solution Approach 1:
The release mechanism components (frangible seal or plunger) are positioned to extract and remove obstructions from the additive flow path as the additive passes through. This allows spillage prevention through controlled release while minimizing the time additive is blocked by mechanical components.
Solution Approach 2:
The frangible seal is pre-positioned to break or the plunger is pre-positioned to retract before additive release, creating a clear flow path in advance. This preliminary action ensures rapid additive elimination while maintaining controlled release to prevent spillage.
3Ease of operation
If the ingredient release closure has an obstructive configuration, then the additive can be contained and controlled, but the flow rate is significantly reduced especially for higher viscosity additives
Solution Approach 1:
The closure structure implements different local qualities: obstructive features are present only where needed for containment control, while the additive flow path is designed with minimized obstructions. This local differentiation allows controlled containment while maintaining high flow rates, especially for viscous additives.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure is segmented into containment zones with controlled obstructions and flow zones with minimized resistance. This segmentation allows the additive to be controlled when stored while ensuring rapid flow during release, resolving the contradiction between containment control and flow rate.
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 vacuum mechanism ensures rapid and complete release of additives into the beverage, improving the delivery process and maintaining product quality by minimizing obstructions and optimizing flow rates, regardless of additive viscosity.
Implementation Method 1
utilizes a vacuum mechanism by applying compression to the container during capping, creating a pressure differential to efficiently draw additives from a sealed compartment into the beverage
Implementation Method 2
Upon opening of the sealed compartment, suction is created forcing the additive to quickly and thoroughly exit the ingredient release closure, a region of higher pressure, and flow into the base component in the container, a region of lower pressure
Data Source
AI summary
A packaged bottle beverage has a base component of the beverage in a container wider vacuum separate from an additive in a sealed compartment of an ingredient release closure. Upon opening the sealed compartment, suction is created forcing the additive to quickly and thoroughly exit the ingredient release closure, a region of relatively higher pressure, and flow into the base component in the container, a region of relatively lower pressure.