Variable-Volume Dispensing Channel for Foamable Products
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensing devices for foamable products suffer from excessive 'drool' or unwanted discharge after actuation, particularly with high-blooming compositions, leading to waste and a messy impression of device malfunction.
Innovation Solution
A dispensing device with a variable-volume cavity defined by two separate and rigidly movable components, allowing for a small dead volume and firm closure to minimize drool, while expanding to allow high flow rates during dispensing and expelling residual product to reduce post-dispensing leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If a waste product containment region is used to collect residual foamable product, then drool is reduced, but product is wasted and can expand to leak out of the containment region
Solution Approach 1:
The flow passage is designed to transition from a static containment structure to a dynamic system where the passage itself moves relative to the container. This movement allows the system to adapt between dispensing and containment modes, directing foam during dispensing and redirecting residual foam away from the outlet during containment, thereby reducing both drool and product waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow passage acts as an intermediary element between the container and the external environment. By moving this intermediary component, the system can control the path of the foamable product, switching between dispensing through the outlet and containing within the container, thus preventing both drool and unnecessary product waste.
2Productivity
If the flow passage is kept open to maintain high flow rates, then dispensing performance is improved, but residual product continues to expand and cause drool
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs dynamic movement of the flow passage to switch between open and closed states. During dispensing, the passage remains open to the outlet for high flow rates. After dispensing stops, the passage moves to a new position that blocks the outlet and directs residual foam into the container, preventing drool while maintaining dispensing performance during active use.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If a movable portion is used to direct foam to the exterior during discharge, then drool is reduced, but product can leak during transient periods when the movable portion is between positions
Solution Approach 1:
The flow passage is designed to move quickly through the transient intermediate position between discharge and containment orientations. This rapid transition minimizes the time window during which leakage could occur, allowing the system to skip through the potentially problematic intermediate state and establish the new configuration before significant residual foam expansion can cause leakage.
4Productivity
If the variable-volume cavity expands to allow high flow rates during dispensing, then productivity is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a flexible dispensing channel that can deform and expand to create variable volume during dispensing. This flexible membrane approach allows the cavity to dynamically change volume without requiring complex mechanical expansion mechanisms, maintaining high flow rates during dispensing while avoiding excessive device complexity through the use of compliant materials rather than rigid moving parts.
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 device effectively reduces residual foam available for drool, maintaining flow rates and preventing messes by expelling residual product, thus minimizing waste and improving user experience with high-blooming foamable products.
Implementation Method 1
The foamable product also expands into a foam within the flow passage as it is being dispensed, such that the volumetric flow rate at the discharge outlet is greater than that at the discharge valve of the container
Implementation Method 2
Product then flows into the flow passage and is discharged through the discharge outlet. This discharge occurring from the discharge outlet is driven by the flow of foamable product entering the flow passage from the container, propelled by the vapor pressure of the propellant in the container
Data Source
AI summary
A dispensing device for dispensing a foamable product. The dispensing device comprises a dispensing channel (110; 210; 410). The dispensing channel has: an inlet (111; 211; 411) for communicating with a valve-element (120) of a container (130) containing the foamable product; and an outlet (112; 212; 412) for dispensing the foamable product. The dispensing channel (110; 210; 410) further comprises a variable-volume cavity (140; 240; 440) at the outlet. The variable-volume cavity (140; 240; 440) is defined at least partly by a first component (142; 242; 442) and a second component (144; 244; 444) that is separate from and rigidly movably with respect to the first component to vary the volume of the variable-volume cavity (140; 240; 440) between a first configuration and a second configuration. In the first configuration, the variable-volume cavity (140; 240; 440) has a first volume and the outlet (112; 212; 412) is closed. In the second configuration, the variable-volume cavity has a second volume and the outlet (112; 212; 412) is open. The second volume is greater than the first volume.