Gravity-Fed Geotextile Hose Filling Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for filling granular, pulverulent, and free-flowing materials into geotextile containers are costly, prone to wear, and require complex mechanical infrastructure, limiting their flexibility and practicality for applications like dam construction and repair.
Innovation Solution
A device featuring a vertically arranged tubular housing for free-fall material filling, combined with a rotating unrolling mechanism and adjustable frame with rollers for flexible deployment, allowing for on-site use with standard construction equipment and efficient material compacting and wrapping with geotextile material.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a worm conveyor is used to fill geotextile hoses, then the material can be conveyed into the hose, but the device becomes costly and the conveyor is subjected to great wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the worm conveyor component entirely and replaces it with a simple hopper and gravity-fed system. The material storage container (hopper) directly feeds material into the geotextile hose without any mechanical conveying elements, eliminating wear issues and reducing construction cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses gravity as the driving force for material flow. Material naturally flows from the hopper into the hose without requiring mechanical conveyors, motors, or complex drive mechanisms. The geotextile hose itself is pulled through the system by the accumulating material weight, creating a self-service filling process.
2Ease of operation
If the filling unit is designed with a worm conveyor, then material can be forced into the hose, but the unit requires complex mechanical infrastructure for pulling and positioning
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of pulling the hose through a fixed conveyor system, the patent inverts the approach: the hose is fed through a simple guide structure while material accumulates in the hopper, and the weight of the material and hose combination provides the driving force. This eliminates the need for complex pulling mechanisms and infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is designed to be dynamically adaptable - the hopper can be positioned at different locations, the hose length can vary, and the filling rate adjusts automatically based on material flow. The entire system can be easily repositioned and reconfigured for different application sites without requiring fixed infrastructure.
3Manufacturing precision
If material is filled by free fall into a vertically arranged tubular body, then compacting is achieved spontaneously, but the device requires suspension from crane or excavator for operation
Solution Approach 1:
The hopper is positioned vertically above the hose entry point, creating a gravity-driven system where material flows downward without requiring additional lifting or positioning mechanisms. The vertical arrangement ensures consistent compacting force as material accumulates, and the entire unit can be suspended from existing construction equipment like cranes or excavators, utilizing their lifting capability rather than requiring specialized mounting infrastructure.
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 simplifies the filling process, reduces wear, and enhances flexibility, enabling the use of geotextile hoses in various applications with standard construction tools, improving stability and ease of use in dam construction and repair.
Implementation Method 1
The geotextile material has sufficient strength to hold the granular materials in a matrix, while the geotextile material is water-permeable in construction
Implementation Method 2
the filling of the material into the housing can occur by free fall, so that a spontaneously formed cone of material in the housing brings about the necessary compacting
Data Source
AI summary
A device is provided for filling granular, pulverulent and free-flowing materials into a container, preferably a hose- and sack-shaped container, made of geotextile material. The device includes a housing that allows the advancement of the material and in which a conveying device is arranged. On the entry side of the conveying device the material can be filled in and on the exit side thereof a hose made of geotextile material receives the material. The hose can be shaped on the jacket of the housing, and can be unwound as a web from a feeding device that is designed like a roll. Longitudinal sides of the web can be connected to each other by a device in the region of the jacket. The housing includes a tubular body that extends perpendicular to the direction of advance and is arranged vertically, the tubular body interacting with a feeding device for the geotextile material, which rotates about the jacket of the tubular body and is designed as an unrolling device.