Dual Cartridge Filter Stabilizer with Curved Locking Members
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Dual filter cartridge assemblies are prone to mechanical degradation due to external vibration, shock, and rotational forces during shipment and installation, leading to improper fit or breakage, as the existing stabilizing systems fail to effectively restrain translational and rotational movements.
Innovation Solution
A stabilizing system comprising a top and bottom cover connector plate with a stabilizer that includes concave sidewalls, locking members, and resilient features to secure filter cartridge housing assemblies, preventing axial, rotational, and translational movements through snap or friction fits, and interlocking protrusions and grooves.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If only top and bottom cover connector plates are used to secure filter cartridges, then the assembly structure is simple, but the filter cartridges are not sufficiently restrained from translational and rotational movements during shipment
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizer is divided into multiple functional segments: locking members that engage with the cover plates, sidewalls that contact the cartridge housings, and reinforcing ribs that provide structural support. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific stabilizing function while maintaining overall structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The stabilizer extends between the top and bottom cover plates, adding a dimensional element that spans the height of the cartridge assembly. This vertical dimension provides additional restraint against translational and rotational movements that the horizontal cover plates alone cannot prevent.
2Strength
If the filter cartridge housing ends are left unrestrained, then the device complexity is reduced, but the cartridges are prone to mechanical degradation from vibration and rotational forces
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizer combines rigid elements (locking members, sidewalls) with structural reinforcing features (ribs) to create a composite structure that provides comprehensive mechanical protection. This composite design reinforces the housing ends without requiring completely separate restraint mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The stabilizer merges multiple protective functions into a single integrated component: it locks to the cover plates, contacts the cartridge housings, prevents rotation, and restrains translation. This merging reduces the number of separate parts needed while providing comprehensive mechanical protection.
3Reliability
If a stabilizer with locking members and sidewalls is added to prevent cartridge movement, then the mechanical degradation is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizer is designed as a multi-functional component that simultaneously performs multiple protective roles: it prevents rotation through its geometry, restrains translation through its positioning between cover plates, and provides structural reinforcement through integrated ribs. This universality reduces the need for multiple separate protective devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The sidewalls of the stabilizer are formed with curved surfaces that conform to the cylindrical shape of the filter cartridge housings. This curvature provides optimal contact surfaces for preventing rotational movement while maintaining a compact, integrated structure rather than requiring complex angular or segmented components.
Data Source
AI summary
A stabilizer for suppressing vibration, shock, translational, and rotational forces, on a dual cartridge filter system. The stabilizer uses opposing curved surfaces which correspond with, and follow the curvature of, the diameter of each cartridge cylindrical housing. The stabilizer is formed having a stabilizer base with locking members or leg portions radially extending along a bottom portion of each opposing curved surface. The stabilizer is secured to each filter housing by having the locking members inserted within indents on a rim of the filter housing bottom end cap. In alternative embodiments, the locking member is a resilient tab that forms a friction fit with a complementary structure on the filter housing bottom end cap, or an interlocking snap-fit male/female clip complementary to a female/male clip or snap on the filter housing lower cap.