Motor Vehicle Fluid Container Tilt Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing operating fluid containers for motor vehicles face challenges in accurately terminating the filling process due to mechanical limitations, tilt-related variations, and market-specific refueling behaviors, leading to inefficiencies and increased production costs from needing different containers for various markets.
Innovation Solution
An operating fluid container equipped with a fill level sensor, tank control device, and electrically or electromagnetically actuable actuators, allowing for data-driven initiation of the filling stop, enabling tilt compensation and market-specific shut-off characteristics, and facilitating precise filling quantities regardless of container tilt or market preferences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If a purely mechanical filling stop is used (closing a valve seat by means of a valve body), then the filling procedure can be terminated automatically, but the filling stop is introduced too early or too late at different tilts of the operating fluid container
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the purely mechanical filling stop mechanism with an electromechanical system. A magnetic field generator creates a magnetic field that interacts with a magnetic element on the valve body, enabling controlled actuation of the filling stop. This allows the system to compensate for tilt variations by adjusting the magnetic field strength or positioning, thereby maintaining precise fill level detection across different container orientations while preserving automatic termination capability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If different operating fluid containers are provided for different markets, then market-specific refueling behaviors can be accommodated, but production and storage costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamically adjustable filling stop mechanism controlled by the tank control device. The system can adapt the shut-off characteristics in real-time based on stored market-specific parameters, allowing a single container design to serve multiple markets. The control device adjusts timing, fill levels, or vent valve behavior according to the selected market profile, eliminating the need for separate container variants while maintaining market-specific refueling behaviors.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters (such as fill level thresholds, timing of filling stop, vent valve control) based on the selected market. The tank control device stores multiple parameter sets corresponding to different markets and switches between them as needed, enabling one physical container to exhibit different filling characteristics for different markets without requiring physical modifications or separate container designs.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the filling procedure is terminated manually by a person carrying out the refueling, then market-specific refueling behaviors can be accommodated, but the filling quantity varies and efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables the operating fluid container to autonomously initiate and control the termination of the filling procedure. The tank control device monitors fill level, calculates remaining capacity, and automatically actuates the filling stop or vent valve at the appropriate moment, eliminating the need for manual intervention. This maintains adaptability to different refueling scenarios while significantly improving refueling efficiency and consistency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors fill level through sensors and provides feedback to the tank control device, which adjusts the filling termination timing accordingly. This closed-loop control ensures that the filling procedure is terminated at the correct moment based on actual container state, accommodating different market requirements while maintaining high efficiency and eliminating manual judgment variability.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention discloses an operating fluid container for a motor vehicle, wherein the operating fluid container comprises a fill level sensor, a tank control device and an electrically and/or electromagnetically actuable actuator; the tank control device is connected to the actuator by means of a first data exchange connection and to the fill level sensor by means of a second data exchange connection; the fill level sensor is designed to transmit data representing a fill level of the operating fluid container to the tank control device via the second data exchange connection; the tank control device is designed to transmit a filling stop signal to the actuator via the first data exchange connection upon receiving data which represent a predetermined fill level of the operating fluid container; and the actuator initiates the termination of a filling procedure of the operating fluid container upon receiving the filling stop signal.