Fuel Container Guide Rails for Internal Component Access
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Fuel containers with integrated components for conveying and preparing fuel face challenges in maintenance and accessibility due to limited internal access, and the design flexibility is restricted in modern electric vehicle architectures where fossil energy storage space is no longer a priority.
Innovation Solution
A container with a positioning system that allows guided placement and removal of components within the container, using guide elements like rails and sliding elements to facilitate access to difficult-to-reach areas, enhancing maintenance and design flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If components are integrated in the interior of the fuel container, then the number of emission-relevant connection points is reduced, but accessibility for maintenance and damage becomes limited
Solution Approach 1:
The container interior is segmented into multiple disposal spaces separated by partition walls, allowing components to be accessed through different access openings. This segmentation enables maintenance personnel to reach specific components without accessing the entire container interior, resolving the contradiction between integration benefits and maintenance accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
A positioning system with guide elements acts as an intermediary mechanism between the access opening and the disposal space. This positioning system enables guided movement of components to accessible locations while maintaining their integrated placement within the container, thus preserving both integration advantages and maintenance accessibility.
2Adaptability or versatility
If components are disposed in difficult-to-access regions within the container, then design flexibility is improved, but maintenance and servicing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning system provides dynamic adjustability during maintenance operations. Components can be moved along guide elements to accessible positions when needed, and then returned to their optimized disposal positions. This dynamic capability allows the system to switch between design-optimized placement and maintenance-accessible placement, resolving the contradiction between design flexibility and maintenance ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide elements are pre-installed in the container during manufacturing, creating predetermined pathways for component movement. This preliminary action enables maintenance personnel to easily access and move components along these pre-established guides without requiring complex disassembly or navigation, thus reducing maintenance complexity while preserving design flexibility.
3Shape
If the container geometry is complex, then design freedom is enhanced, but accessibility to certain regions becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning system introduces a new dimension of accessibility by creating movable pathways within the complex container geometry. Instead of relying solely on static access openings, the guide elements create a third dimension for component movement, allowing access to regions that would otherwise be unreachable through the container wall, thus resolving the contradiction between complex geometry and regional accessibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A container for storing a fluid may have one or more of the following features: container walls which define a cavity for storing the fluid, and a positioning system via which at least one component inside the cavity can be positioned in a guided manner.