Resilient Fuel Cap Seal Assembly for Airtight Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fuel cap assemblies for commercial vehicles fail to maintain an airtight seal under harsh environmental conditions, including extreme weather and vibrations, and are prone to fuel leakage or discharge during sudden impacts, which can lead to fires or explosions.
Innovation Solution
A fuel cap assembly with a resilient seal made of thermoplastic materials like VMQ/Si and NBR, which acts as a spring to bias the cap and maintain a tight seal without additional components like coil springs or plunger mechanisms, ensuring an air-tight and fluid-tight seal by frictionally engaging with the fuel filler neck.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional seal assemblies with coil springs and plunger mechanisms are used, then the sealing force can be maintained, but the device complexity increases and reliability decreases under harsh conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the sealing function and the spring biasing function into a single integrated seal assembly. The resilient seal element itself acts as the spring, eliminating the need for separate coil springs and plunger mechanisms. This merging of functions reduces device complexity while maintaining sealing reliability under harsh conditions including extreme weather, vibrations, and sudden impacts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and eliminates unnecessary components from traditional seal assemblies. By removing coil springs, plunger mechanisms, and other auxiliary parts, the design achieves a simpler structure that is more reliable. The single resilient seal element performs all necessary functions without requiring these additional components.
2Reliability
If multiple components are used in the seal assembly, then the sealing function can be achieved, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple functions into a single seal assembly component. The resilient seal element simultaneously provides sealing, biasing, and spring functions that traditionally required multiple separate components. This reduction in part count directly lowers manufacturing costs while maintaining the necessary sealing function.
Solution Approach 2:
The single resilient seal assembly performs multiple functions: it provides the sealing barrier, generates the biasing force through its resilient properties, and acts as the spring mechanism. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate components for each function, reducing manufacturing complexity and cost.
3Force
If additional spring components are added to maintain seal bias, then the sealing force is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient seal assembly is self-biasing through its own elastic properties. The seal element naturally exerts a restoring force when compressed or deformed, eliminating the need for external spring components. This self-service approach maintains the necessary seal bias force without adding device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the seal element by using materials with specific resilient properties. The seal is made from elastomeric or polymeric materials that inherently provide the necessary bias force through their elastic deformation characteristics, replacing the need for metal spring components.
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 provides a durable, cost-effective, and reliable seal that withstands over 7,000 cycles of tightening and loosening, high pressure, and extreme temperatures, maintaining integrity during drops and exposure to diesel fuel, while being easily replaceable and resistant to decomposition.
Implementation Method 1
the seal itself acting as a spring that biases the cap along an elongate axis of the body
Implementation Method 2
resistant to decomposition
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a fuel cap including a body, a seal positioned within the body and adapted for engaging a filler tube opening, the seal manufactured of a material and in a shape such that the seal itself provides the biasing force to secure the cap on the filler tube opening.