Beverage Valve Mounting Assembly with Bottom Actuator
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing beverage valve assemblies have narrow spaces that make it difficult to connect and disconnect the valve body from carbonated or still water sources and flavor ingredient sources, causing frustration and delays for installers and service technicians due to limited clearance and access requirements.
Innovation Solution
A mounting assembly with a housing and actuator system that connects the valve body to a liquid source, allowing separate connection and pressure actuation from a clip and spindles that rotate to open and close, providing greater accessibility and ease of installation and service by allowing pressure actuation from the bottom portion rather than the upper region.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the valve body is connected to the liquid source through a compact mounting structure, then the device size is reduced, but the clearance for installation and service access becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting assembly is divided into separate functional components: the valve body connection mechanism and the actuator mechanism are positioned at different locations. The actuator is mounted on the bottom portion while the valve body connects to the liquid source through the housing, allowing independent access to each component for installation and service.
Solution Approach 2:
The actuator is repositioned from the traditional upper region to the bottom portion of the mounting assembly, utilizing the vertical dimension differently. This spatial reconfiguration allows service access from below rather than requiring access to the upper-back region, effectively solving the clearance problem while maintaining compact overall dimensions.
2Device complexity
If the actuator is positioned in the upper region for direct pressure actuation, then the actuation mechanism is simplified, but the service access and maintenance become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The actuation function is segmented from the valve body connection. The actuator is mounted separately on the bottom portion of the housing and acts through the mounting assembly to operate the valve body, allowing the actuation mechanism to remain simple while enabling easy access from below for service and maintenance.
3Volume of moving object
If the connection and actuation are integrated in the same region, then the structure is more compact, but the installation and service time increase due to limited access
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting assembly separates the connection function (valve body to liquid source) from the actuation function (pressure application). The valve body connects through the housing while the actuator is independently mounted on the bottom, allowing parallel access during installation and service, thereby reducing total time required despite maintaining structural compactness.
Solution Approach 2:
By positioning the actuator on the bottom portion rather than integrating it with the upper connection region, the design utilizes vertical space efficiently to maintain compactness while opening up access from the below dimension, enabling faster installation and service operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A mounting assembly includes a beverage mounting assembly having a housing. The housing has a housing wall that surrounds a cavity. A valve body is connectable to the beverage mounting assembly. The valve body is connectable to the beverage mounting assembly via a clip. The clip is insertable into both the housing and the valve body to connect the valve body to the beverage mounting assembly. At least one actuator is disposed in the cavity of the housing. The actuator rotates from a closed position to an open position that actuates pressure to the valve body from a liquid source. The actuator is separate from the clip that connects the housing to the valve body.