Dosing device for impregnating a cleaning cloth with detergent
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current dosing devices for liquid detergent in the professional cleaning industry have unreliable and difficult-to-use actuating devices, requiring frequent maintenance and skilled personnel, with hidden moving parts prone to corrosion and obstructed by residue, leading to inefficient detergent release.
Innovation Solution
The actuating devices are designed with externally accessible and ergonomic levers that mimic the detergent flow, allowing intuitive operation and easy maintenance, featuring a connection with a diverging radius track and a clutch damper to control the valve's opening and closing, ensuring complete liquid release without premature closure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If actuating devices are fitted with hidden moving parts inside the dosing device structure, then the device appearance is compact and clean, but the moving parts are exposed to aggressive detergents and continual wetting-drying cycles causing corrosion and obstruction over time
Solution Approach 1:
The actuating device is extracted from the internal structure and positioned externally on the dosing device. The valve connection is configured as an extension of the valve outside the dosing device, allowing the actuating mechanism to be separated from the harsh internal environment while maintaining functional connection.
Solution Approach 2:
A connection element serves as an intermediary between the valve and the external actuating device. This connection acts as a bridge that transmits the actuating force while isolating the valve from direct exposure to aggressive detergents and allows for easy replacement of the actuating mechanism without disassembling the entire dosing device.
2Reliability
If actuating devices have numerous metallic springs for valve operation, then the valve mechanism is reliable and functional, but the metallic springs deteriorate due to corrosion from aggressive detergents requiring continual maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The actuating device with its metallic springs is designed as a replaceable component rather than a permanent part. When the springs deteriorate from corrosion, the entire actuating device can be replaced as a unit without requiring complex disassembly or specialized technical skills, making maintenance simple and economical.
Solution Approach 2:
The dosing device is segmented into replaceable modules: the valve mechanism remains integrated with the dosing chamber, while the actuating device with its corrosion-prone metallic springs is separated as an independent replaceable component. This segmentation allows the corrosion-sensitive parts to be easily swapped out without affecting the core dosing functionality.
3Manufacturing precision
If the valve is displaced by actuating devices with complex internal mechanisms, then the valve operation is precise, but the operating controls are not easy to see, difficult to use, and not intuitive
Solution Approach 1:
The actuating mechanism is moved from a hidden internal position to an external position on the dosing device. This dimensional change allows the operating controls to be positioned in a location that is easily visible and accessible to the operator, while the connection to the valve maintains the precise displacement mechanism through the external connection extension.
Solution Approach 2:
The external connection serves as an intermediary that transmits the operator's input from the easily accessible external position to the valve mechanism. This allows the operator interface to be separated from the precision mechanism while maintaining accurate control through the connection element.
4Reliability
If the operator must hold the actuating device in the opening position until the storage chamber is completely empty, then complete detergent release is ensured, but the operation time is prolonged and operators often terminate early due to impatience
Solution Approach 1:
The external positioning of the actuating device and valve connection allows for better visual feedback to the operator about the detergent release status. The operator can more easily monitor the process and understand when complete emptying has occurred, reducing premature termination while maintaining reliable complete release.
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 reliable, easy-to-use, and maintainable actuating devices that ensure complete detergent release with reduced maintenance needs, facilitating efficient operation and intuitive handling by operators without requiring skilled technical assistance.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic element (23) joined to said valve (8) and configured to propel said valve in the opening direction
Implementation Method 2
said travel of the movement of the lever for reclosing the valve is conveniently slowed down by a motion or clutch damper device that prolongs the closure of the valve, providing a degree of certainty that all the liquid stored is drained off
Data Source
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AI summary
This invention concerns a device for dosing a liquid detergent for soaking cleaning cloths, which releases an exact amount of liquid detergent; in particular, the invention refers to the actuating devices for operating the valve that the above-mentioned dosing device is fitted with.