Degassing Tank Cap Locking Shell to Prevent Coolant Tampering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Unskilled users may attempt to top off coolant in a vehicle's cooling circuit, potentially masking coolant leaks and risking contact with batteries, leading to dangerous situations.
Innovation Solution
An anti-tampering device is designed to secure the cap of a degassing tank, using locking mechanisms that prevent unskilled users from opening the tank, thereby deterring coolant adjustments and reducing the risk of battery-related hazards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the degassing tank cap is made removable for coolant adjustment, then ease of operation is improved, but safety deteriorates due to risk of unskilled user tampering and battery contact
Solution Approach 1:
The cap assembly is segmented into multiple functional components: the cap itself, a protective shell surrounding the cap, and locking means that secure the shell to the tank neck. This segmentation allows the system to provide both accessibility (cap can be removed) and safety (shell and locking means prevent unauthorized access)
Solution Approach 2:
The protective shell acts as an intermediary element between the user and the coolant system. It provides a physical barrier that prevents unskilled users from directly accessing the cap and coolant, while still allowing authorized service personnel to access the system when needed
2Ease of operation
If the cap is made easily accessible for coolant topping, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to potential masking of coolant leaks
Solution Approach 1:
The protective shell and locking means are installed in advance to prevent unskilled users from adding coolant. This preliminary protective measure stops the harmful action of masking leaks before it can occur, while still allowing authorized personnel to perform legitimate coolant adjustments
3Object-affected harmful factors
If protective measures are added to prevent unskilled user access, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the protective system into a shell and locking means that can be attached to existing cap designs, the patent adds safety functionality without completely redesigning the cap assembly. This modular approach limits the increase in complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The protective shell and locking means are designed to be universally applicable to different cap types and tank configurations. This multi-functionality allows a single protective solution to work across various applications, reducing the need for multiple specialized components and thereby limiting complexity increase
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure relates to an anti-tampering device (100, 200, 300, 400, 500) for securing a cap (103, 203, 303, 403, 503) onto a neck of a degassing tank of a vehicle cooling circuit, wherein the device comprises locking means that are either attached to a shell configured to surround and/or secure the cap on the neck (104, 204, 304), or attached to the cap and the neck (404, 504) of the tank. The device may comprise tamper-evident means (227′, 306) to provide evidence of unlocking the locking means. Additionally or alternatively, the device may be configured to be removed only by destruction such that once removed, it can no longer be reused.