Interconnected Hydraulic Port Cap Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hydraulic systems in manufacturing and shipping are prone to contamination and assembly errors due to the use of small, single-use plastic caps that are difficult to visualize and may be left in place, leading to system failure.
Innovation Solution
A protective cap assembly with interconnected rubber caps and web arms that provide a secure, reusable, and visible cover for hydraulic ports, ensuring contamination prevention and easy identification of cap presence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If individual small plastic caps are used to cover hydraulic ports, then the ports are protected from contamination, but the caps become potential foreign material when removed and are difficult to visually identify as being in place
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple individual caps are merged into a single integrated cap assembly that covers multiple hydraulic ports simultaneously. The caps are connected by a web structure formed from the same elastomeric material, creating one unified protective component that eliminates the risk of individual caps becoming loose foreign material while maintaining contamination protection for all ports.
Solution Approach 2:
The cap assembly serves multiple functions: it protects multiple hydraulic ports from contamination, provides visual identification through its larger size and configuration, and acts as a single removable unit that eliminates the foreign material risk of loose individual caps. The web structure also provides structural integrity while allowing the assembly to be installed and removed as one piece.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If individual small plastic caps are used to cover hydraulic ports, then the ports are protected from contamination, but it is not visually apparent that a cap is in place on the port
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple small caps are combined into a larger integrated assembly that spans across multiple ports. The web structure connecting the caps creates a visible framework that makes the presence of the protective covering clearly apparent, solving the visual identification problem while maintaining the contamination protection function of individual caps.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If single-use plastic caps are used on hydraulic ports, then contamination is prevented, but the caps must be discarded after one use increasing waste and cost
Solution Approach 1:
The cap assembly is designed to be reusable rather than disposable. After removal from the hydraulic ports, the entire assembly can be recovered, cleaned, and reused on subsequent components. This eliminates the need to discard functional protective caps after a single use, reducing material waste and cost while maintaining effective contamination protection.
Data Source
AI summary
A protective cap assembly for hydraulic ports of a component includes a plurality of caps, each cap of the plurality of caps installable over a hydraulic port of the component, and a web interconnecting the plurality of caps. A hydraulic system component includes a plurality of hydraulic ports configured for a fluid flow therethrough and a protective cap assembly for the plurality of hydraulic ports. The protective cap assembly includes a plurality of caps, each cap of the plurality of caps installable over a hydraulic port of the component and a web interconnecting the plurality of caps.