Embedded Hollow Member Anti-Freeze Valve for Tanker Trucks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing anti-freezing systems for valves on vehicles, such as tankers and gully emptiers, are costly, inconvenient, and inefficient, particularly in severe cold conditions, as they often rely on external heating devices with electrical components or fluid heating systems that struggle to effectively prevent freezing at critical areas like the valve seat.
Innovation Solution
An anti-freezing valve with an embedded hollow member for a thermal carrier fluid, where the hollow member is made of stainless steel and extends along the peripheral profile of the valve seat, providing extensive heat exchange and proximity to the critical areas, thus preventing freezing without the need for external components or complex anchoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If external heating devices with electrical resistances are mounted on the valve, then the valve can be protected from freezing, but the device becomes costly and requires electrical connections
Solution Approach 1:
The heating function is merged with the valve body by embedding a hollow member directly into the valve structure. This eliminates the need for separate external heating devices and their associated electrical connections, while maintaining the anti-freezing protection function.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve body itself serves as the heating element through the embedded hollow member that circulates thermal carrier fluid. The system uses the valve's own structure to provide heating, eliminating dependence on external electrical systems.
2Temperature
If external heating devices are applied on the valve structure, then heating function is provided, but the heating is concentrated over modest portions and remote from critical areas
Solution Approach 1:
The hollow member is strategically positioned within the valve body to place the heating function exactly where needed - adjacent to the valve seat and critical sealing areas. This ensures concentrated heat delivery to the most vulnerable points rather than distributed heating of the entire valve exterior.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow heating member is nested within the valve body structure, allowing it to be positioned in intimate proximity to critical internal areas like the valve seat. This nested arrangement enables precise thermal targeting without requiring external mounting.
3Reliability
If fluid heating devices are applied on the outside of the valve, then good unfreezing capacity is achieved, but the anchorage is difficult and heat dispersion is considerable
Solution Approach 1:
The hollow heating member is integrated into the valve body during manufacturing, eliminating the need for separate anchoring operations. The heating system and valve structure become a unified component, removing the anchoring difficulty entirely.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow member is positioned and secured within the valve body before the final casting or manufacturing steps are completed. This preliminary placement ensures optimal positioning without requiring complex post-manufacturing anchoring operations.
4Manufacturing precision
If the hollow member extends along the peripheral profile of the valve seat, then heat exchange is maximized at critical areas, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hollow member's geometry is optimized to follow the peripheral profile of the valve seat, maximizing the surface area for heat exchange at critical locations. This parametric design approach allows the heating surface to be tailored to the specific thermal requirements of different valve seat geometries.
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 effectively prevents freezing by ensuring extensive heat exchange and proximity to the valve seat, reducing unfreezing time and maintaining functionality in extreme cold conditions without the need for additional external components, while being cost-effective and simple to assemble.
Implementation Method 1
an anti-freezing arrangement, including an axially extended hollow member embedded in the metal material (M) constituting the valve body (2), for the passage of a thermal carrier fluid
Implementation Method 2
the hollow member (13) extends in the proximity of the valve seat (8) for a long stretch of its development
Data Source
AI summary
An anti-freezing valve (1) comprises:a valve body (2) made of metal material (M), defining a passageway (5) for a liquid;an open/close member (9), mounted displaceable in the valve body (2),an anti-freezing arrangement.The valve body (2) is a valve body obtained by casting, which defines a valve seat (8), with respect to which the open/close member (9) is displaceable in a slidable manner between a raised position of opening and a lowered position of closing of the passageway (5).Embedded in the metal material (M) constituting the valve body (2) is an axially extended hollow member (13), belonging to the anti-freezing arrangement, for the passage of a thermovector fluid (F), the hollow member (13) having respective ends (14) accessible from outside the valve body (2), for connection to a circuit of the thermovector fluid (F).The valve (1) has preferred application on vehicles for the transport of liquids, in particular tankers, gully emptiers and similar vehicles for transporting waste water and sewage.