Folding Plastic Bottle Fluid Dispenser Design
- Status: Open
- Prize: $200
- Entries Received: 4
Contest Brief
We are looking for ideas on how to have a small flat plastic container (approx 85mm x 55 mm x 4mm) fold in half to dispense fluid from a dropper nozzle (at the folded seam) that gets exposed when container is folded in half. The challenge, and specifically what we are looking for ideas on, is how to pass fluid across the seam when folded. Ideally the internal volume would not change until mostly folded to prevent squeezing out fluid or sucking in air during the folding process. Only after it is almost fully folded should there be pressure to squeeze out a drop of fluid. I have attached various rough ideas for this. Ideas like how straw can bend or how a fire bellows works can be used for inspiration.
My goal is that this is about the size of a thick credit card. It would be flat, nozzle would be covered/sealed from elements. Then the user would fold the container in half in order to squeeze the two halfs together like a fireplace bellows and dispense a drop of fluid from the now exposed nozzle. Ideally the hinge would allow fluid to pass while still keeping the internal volume constant until fully folded to squeeze out drop. (we don't want to suck in air or squeeze out fluid during the opening process or at least minimize this effect).
I want to minimize this ingress of air for bacteria contamination concerns, eventually the inside of the container will be all air when the liquid is depleted, but minimizing the air exchanges during dispensing would be the goal here.
User should be able to return the container to it's flat position, re-securing the nozzle (away from elements) and ready to be reused. Ideally the nozzle can click back into the container without using a separate lid. Perhaps would require some sort of slide to cover nozzle and keep the container flat until use. That being said the main goal is to avoid separate parts, and be able to make this in a mold BFS style.
I am hoping to have the nozzle click into a securing home along the seam, and is exposed when unfolded. But the main goal for this design competition is passing fluid from one half to the other when opened.
This would not be used in any harsh environment, perhaps could get sat on if user has it in their pocket.
We are looking at using Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) plastic for the bottle perhaps varying the thickness in parts to achieve result. For filling could be anywhere for now, as we could weld the seam. The idea would be to produce via Blow Fill Seal (BFS) if this helps guide your idea.
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