Fluid Drainage Tool Using Vacuum Clamping for Pliable Tube Suction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for draining fluids from vehicle containers are often impractical, as they require expensive pumps or unsafe manual procedures, and not all containers are accessible from underneath the vehicle, making fluid removal cumbersome and potentially hazardous.
Innovation Solution
A fluid drainage tool with a mechanical clamping mechanism that compresses a pliable tube to generate suction, allowing for safe and efficient self-evacuation of fluids from containers without the need for pumps or direct contact with the fluid, using vacuum members and guide members to initiate and maintain fluid flow through the tube.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a pump is used to draw fluids out of containers, then fluid removal is effective, but the device becomes expensive and difficult to move
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the fluid's own weight and gravity to drive the drainage process. Once the pliable tube is filled with fluid by manual suction, the fluid's weight creates sufficient pressure to drain the container without requiring an external power source or pump.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the complex mechanical pump system with a simple manual suction mechanism using mouth or bellows, followed by gravity-driven flow. This substitution dramatically reduces device complexity while maintaining fluid removal effectiveness.
2Ease of operation
If manual suction is used to initiate fluid flow, then fluid drainage is achieved, but the procedure becomes dangerous and undesirable
Solution Approach 1:
The pliable tube serves as an intermediary between the operator and the fluid. The operator sucks fluid into the tube (away from the body), creating a sealed system that prevents direct contact with hazardous fluids during the drainage process.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual suction is performed as a preliminary action to fill the pliable tube with fluid. Once the tube is filled and sealed to the container, the dangerous manual suction is completed, and the safe gravity-driven drainage takes over for the remainder of the fluid removal.
3Ease of operation
If containers are drained from underneath the vehicle, then fluid removal is simple, but not all containers are accessible from underneath
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage system can be applied to containers regardless of their location on the vehicle. The flexible pliable tube can reach various positions, and the system works with containers accessible from the top, side, or underneath, making it universally applicable to different vehicle types and fluid containers.
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
Enables safe and efficient fluid removal from vehicle containers without the use of pumps or manual suction, allowing for easy handling of containers and reducing the risk of spills or hazardous contact, while accommodating containers not accessible from underneath the vehicle.
Implementation Method 1
translating the pair of vacuum members generates a suction force within the pliable tube. The suction force generated within the pliable tube draws fluid out of a container at an end of the pliable tube
Implementation Method 2
The fluid is then drawn out of the container through the pliable tube, such as via siphoning, for self-evacuation
Data Source
AI summary
A fluid drainage tool and method for utilizing the same is disclosed. The fluid drainage tool includes one or more pairs of vacuum members and a mechanical clamping mechanism. The mechanical clamping mechanism is coupled to the one or more pairs of vacuum members and is adapted to move the one or more pairs of vacuum members between an unclamped configuration and a clamped configuration. In the unclamped configuration, a gap formed by each of the one or more pairs of the vacuum members is larger than an original outer diameter of a pliable tube. In the clamped configuration, the gap is smaller than the original outer diameter of the pliable tube. In the clamped configuration, the one or more pairs of vacuum members compresses the pliable tube and generates a suction force within the pliable tube when translated along the pliable tube.