Flash Suppressor Retains Fuel to Prevent Container Combustion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable fuel containers face risks of explosion when users improperly pour fuel onto ignition sources due to inadequate prevention of fuel-air combustion, as existing flame arrestors are ineffective in plastic containers and may provide a false sense of security.
Innovation Solution
The design creates a 'too rich' fuel-air mixture within the container by retaining a sufficient quantity of fuel near the opening, using structures like neck dams, absorbent materials, or flash suppressors to inhibit combustion, ensuring that any explosive event is suppressed outside the container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a metal flame arrestor is used in a portable fuel container, then combustion prevention is improved, but static electricity discharge and false sense of security worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the metal flame arrestor mechanism with an absorbent material system that uses capillary action and absorption physics instead of mechanical flame blocking. This eliminates static electricity discharge issues while maintaining combustion prevention through a different physical mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameter from metal to absorbent material (such as sponge or fabric), fundamentally altering how combustion prevention is achieved. Instead of blocking flames mechanically, the absorbent material traps fuel and prevents proper fuel-air mixing, eliminating the harmful static electricity effect while maintaining safety.
2Reliability
If fuel is retained near the opening to create a rich mixture, then combustion suppression is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses porous or absorbent materials (sponge, fabric, or other absorbent substances) to retain fuel near the opening. These materials naturally hold fuel through capillary action and absorption, creating the necessary rich mixture condition without requiring complex mechanical structures or additional components.
Solution Approach 2:
The absorbent material automatically retains fuel through its inherent absorption properties without requiring external power, control systems, or complex mechanisms. The material self-regulates fuel retention based on its physical properties, simplifying the overall device while achieving combustion suppression.
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
This approach effectively prevents combustion within the container by maintaining a fuel-air mixture that is too rich to support ignition, even in reckless usage scenarios, thereby enhancing safety.
Implementation Method 1
an absorbent material, or a flash suppressor... retaining a quantity of fuel proximate to an opening in order to provide a fuel-air mixture within the container that is too rich to support combustion
Data Source
AI summary
A portable fuel container configured to prevent liquid fuel contained therein from being entirely emptied from the container. The amount of liquid fuel retained in the container can be sufficient to maintain a fuel-to-air ratio in the container at a fuel-rich level that prevents combustion within the container if the container were to be placed near an ignition source or if an ignition source were to somehow enter the container. The container can also include other safety features such as, for example, a flash suppressor located at the fill opening, an extra wide fill opening, and/or an easily controllable dispensing spout. When a flash suppressor is employed, the perforations in the flash suppressor can be configured to retain fuel therein after fuel has been dispensed from the container and the flash suppressor is no longer submerged in fuel.