Boiling Water Dispenser Valve Layout to Prevent Lime Scale Jamming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing apparatuses for dispensing boiling water face challenges in providing reliable and durable protection against excess pressure, with safety provisions often becoming jammed due to lime scale deposits, leading to ineffective operation during high-pressure conditions.
Innovation Solution
An electrically operated valve system with a thermally insulated reservoir, where the valve is designed to open against a closing force when excess pressure reaches a threshold, using a ferromagnetic valve member and electric coil or motor actuator, and a pipe configuration that minimizes contact between the valve and boiling water to prevent lime scale buildup, ensuring both normal operation and safety against excess pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a safety provision is provided in the reservoir, then protection against excess pressure is improved, but the valve becomes susceptible to lime scale deposits and jamming
Solution Approach 1:
A T-shaped pipe section is introduced as an intermediary element between the reservoir and the valve. The horizontal leg of the T-connection receives hot water from the reservoir, while the vertical leg directs water downward to the valve. This intermediary pipe configuration allows the valve to be positioned below the reservoir level, ensuring that lime scale deposits accumulate in the horizontal pipe section rather than on the valve components, thus maintaining valve reliability while preserving excess pressure protection functionality.
2Ease of operation
If an electrically operated valve is used, then operation convenience is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the manual valve operation mechanism with an electric actuator into a single integrated valve assembly. The electric motor or solenoid is directly coupled to the valve stem, allowing the valve to be operated electrically while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure. This merging approach achieves convenient electrical operation without significantly increasing system complexity, as the actuator integrates with rather than adds to the valve's basic structure.
3Device complexity
If the valve is positioned directly in the reservoir, then the number of parts is reduced, but lime scale buildup on the valve increases
Solution Approach 1:
The water delivery system is segmented into distinct functional sections: the reservoir, the T-shaped pipe connection, and the valve assembly. By dividing the system in this way, the patent allows the valve to be positioned in a location (below the reservoir) that is less susceptible to lime scale deposition, while the T-connection serves as a separate element that can accommodate any deposits in its horizontal leg. This segmentation achieves reduced overall complexity while protecting the valve from harmful lime scale buildup.
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 solution provides a reliable and durable system that prevents steam and water from entering the sink cupboard during excess pressure, maintains valve functionality by regular use, and reduces lime scale deposition, ensuring consistent and safe boiling water dispensing.
Implementation Method 1
an actuator which in an operated condition exerts a lifting force on the valve member directed opposite to the closing force such that the valve member is lifted from the valve seat
Implementation Method 2
a thermally insulated reservoir which is resistant to an excess pressure prevailing in the interior of the reservoir
Implementation Method 3
an electric heating element which is disposed in the reservoir
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for dispensing hot or boiling water which is provided with a thermally insulated reservoir which is resistant to an excess pressure prevailing in the interior, an electric heating element which is arranged in the reservoir, a discharge conduit and a valve which is included in a fluid communication between the reservoir and the discharge conduit and provided with a valve seat and a movably arranged valve member which in a closed position is pressed with a closing force against the valve seat and which can be brought with an operating element to an opened position, wherein the configuration of the valve and the connection thereof to the fluid communication are such that an excess pressure prevailing in the reservoir exerts a force on the valve body which is directed opposite to the closing force, wherein the closing force is such that the valve member is pressed from the closed position when an excess pressure prevailing in the reservoir reaches a threshold value.