Hydraulic Fluid Storage Tank Segmentation for Industrial Vehicle Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial vehicles, such as fork lift trucks, often face space constraints that limit the volume of hydraulic fluid storage, making it difficult to maintain sufficient hydraulic fluid volume and cooling, as they are typically designed for a different fuel source, leading to inadequate hydraulic tank sizing and inefficient fluid circulation.
Innovation Solution
Modifying the empty space in the frame originally intended for a different fuel source to accommodate a second hydraulic fluid storage tank connected to the existing one, with strategically sized fluid conduits to facilitate hydraulic fluid communication and pressure management, ensuring efficient flow and cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the frame is designed for a different fuel source with different fuel storage, then space is saved for other uses, but hydraulic fluid storage volume becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The hydraulic storage system is divided into two separate tanks: a primary hydraulic tank and a secondary hydraulic tank. The primary tank is positioned in the cargo bed area, while the secondary tank utilizes the empty space in the frame originally intended for alternative fuel storage. This segmentation allows each tank to serve specific functions and enables independent sizing and positioning to optimize both hydraulic capacity and space utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the vertical and spatial dimensions of the frame structure by placing the secondary hydraulic tank in the empty frame space that would normally accommodate alternative fuel sources. This three-dimensional space utilization allows the system to increase total hydraulic storage volume without increasing the vehicle's footprint or compromising the adapted fuel source configuration.
2Length of moving object
If hydraulic tank volume is reduced to fit space constraints, then the vehicle can be compact, but fluid cooling efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the hydraulic storage into two tanks, the system increases the total surface area available for heat dissipation. The primary tank in the cargo bed and the secondary tank in the frame both provide cooling surfaces, effectively increasing the total cooling capacity while maintaining a compact overall vehicle structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the cooling functions of two separate tanks to achieve the thermal management capacity of a larger single tank. Both tanks receive and cool hydraulic fluid, providing redundant cooling pathways that enhance overall cooling efficiency while maintaining vehicle compactness.
3Device complexity
If a single hydraulic tank is used, then the system is simple, but sufficient fluid volume and circulation efficiency cannot be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The hydraulic system is segmented into two tanks connected by conduits, allowing the pump to draw from one tank and return fluid to the other. This segmentation creates an efficient circulation pathway that enhances fluid volume availability and circulation efficiency while adding minimal complexity to the overall system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The conduits connecting the primary and secondary tanks act as intermediaries that facilitate efficient fluid circulation. The strategic sizing and positioning of these conduits enable smooth fluid transfer between tanks, optimizing circulation efficiency without requiring complex pumping or control systems.
Data Source
AI summary
Commonly available industrial vehicles may be constructed with a frame originally designed for a particular fuel source where such a frame is used to construct an industrial vehicle that uses a different fuel source with a different fuel storage compared to the industrial vehicle for which such a frame was originally intended. Such a truck powered by a different fuel source typically includes an empty space that was originally intended to house the original fuel, and such empty space may be used to increase the hydraulic storage capacity for such a truck.