Adaptive Sanitary Flush Control for Liquid Consumption
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Sanitary facilities in vehicles, such as rail vehicles, face challenges in minimizing flushing liquid consumption to reduce weight and tank size while ensuring reliable operation and preventing incrustation and blockages, with existing methods having fixed flushing volumes that do not adapt to usage patterns.
Innovation Solution
A method that dynamically controls fluid consumption based on past usage, triggering adaptive flushing to prevent blockages and optimize liquid exchange, including automatic special flushes and adjusting flushing water amounts according to usage patterns and available liquid levels, ensuring sufficient flushing liquid for operational periods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of stationary object
If flushing liquid consumption is reduced to minimum per flushing operation, then weight and tank size are minimized, but incrustations and blockages may form in pipes and sanitary components
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts the flushing volume based on detected usage patterns and time intervals. Instead of a fixed minimal flush volume, the control device increases or decreases the flushing liquid amount depending on whether the sanitary component has been used recently, making the system responsive to actual conditions rather than static
Solution Approach 2:
The control device monitors usage data from sanitary components and uses this feedback to adjust future flushing operations. By detecting when components have not been used for predetermined time intervals, the system receives feedback about potential incrustation risks and responds by triggering special flushes with increased liquid volume
2Ease of operation
If fixed flushing volume is used per flushing process, then system operation is simple, but consumption does not adapt to usage patterns and incrustation risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically monitors its own usage patterns and triggers special flushes without external intervention. The control device detects when sanitary components have not been used for predetermined intervals and autonomously initiates flushing operations, making the system self-regulating rather than requiring manual control adjustments
Solution Approach 2:
The flushing volume transitions from a static fixed value to a dynamic variable that automatically adjusts based on detected usage patterns and time intervals, allowing the system to adapt its behavior to actual operational conditions
3Volume of stationary object
If flushing liquid consumption is minimized, then tank size is reduced, but sufficient liquid may not be available for desired operating time
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary monitoring of usage patterns to predict when incrustation risks will occur, triggering special flushes in advance before blockages form. By detecting time intervals between uses and proactively initiating flushes, the system prevents problems rather than reacting to them, ensuring continuous reliable operation
Solution Approach 2:
The control device continuously monitors usage data and provides feedback about consumption patterns, using this information to adjust future flushing operations and optimize liquid distribution over the operating period
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates inter alia to a method for operating a sanitary device (20), in which a flushing liquid, in particular water, is guided through a conduit system of the sanitary device (20). According to the invention, it is provided that the liquid consumption of at least one sanitary component (50) of the sanitary device (20) is controlled as a function of or at least also as a function of the liquid consumption in the past.