Inflatable Floating Cover for Liquid Oxidation Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for preventing oxidation of liquids in storage containers, such as wine and oil, are either costly due to inert gas consumption or face challenges with rigid structures that complicate maneuverability and reusability, and often fail to ensure a perfect seal.
Innovation Solution
A floating and inflatable cover made of plastic material with internal spacer threads, allowing it to be easily introduced and removed from containers, providing a perfect seal and reusability by maintaining a flat contact surface and ensuring minimal air volume in contact with the liquid.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If inert gas is introduced into the container to prevent oxidation, then the liquid is protected from oxidation, but the operational cost increases due to gas consumption and the system complexity increases due to fixed piping installation
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the oxidation prevention function from the complex inert gas system with fixed piping and isolates it into a self-contained floating cover device. The cover creates a sealed environment that excludes air from contacting the liquid surface, achieving oxidation prevention without requiring external gas supply infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The floating cover is a self-service device that automatically positions itself on the liquid surface and maintains the seal without requiring external control systems or fixed installations. The cover's buoyancy and flexible sealing edges enable it to self-adjust to liquid level changes and container geometry.
2Reliability
If a rigid floating roof is used to prevent oxidation, then the seal is improved, but the maneuverability deteriorates and the device cannot be reused on other containers
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs a flexible cover made of food-grade plastic material that can be easily maneuvered, installed, and removed. The flexibility of the material allows the cover to conform to different container shapes and sizes while maintaining an effective seal through its ability to flex and adapt to the liquid surface and container walls.
Solution Approach 2:
The floating cover is designed as a universal device that can be used on various containers of different sizes and shapes. The flexible material and simple construction allow the same cover design to be adapted to multiple applications, enabling reuse across different containers without requiring custom rigid structures for each vessel.
3Strength
If a rigid floating roof is used to prevent oxidation, then the structural stability is improved, but the weight increases making maneuverability difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces heavy rigid structures with lightweight flexible plastic material that forms a buoyant cover. The flexibility of the material provides sufficient structural stability to maintain the seal and resist deformation from water pressure and wind forces, while the low weight enables easy manual handling and installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The floating cover utilizes buoyancy as a counterweight principle, where the air-filled or foam-filled plastic structure naturally floats on the liquid surface, providing structural stability without requiring heavy materials. The buoyant force compensates for external forces such as water pressure and wind, maintaining the cover's position and seal integrity.
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 effectively prevents oxidation by maintaining a hermetic seal with minimal air contact, is lightweight and easy to maneuver, and can be reused across different containers, reducing operational costs and ensuring the quality of stored liquids.
Implementation Method 1
floating and inflatable cover which is intended to prevent the oxidation of a liquid element such as wine, oil or similar, when the latter is stored inside a container or tank
Implementation Method 2
made of plastic material for food use, consequently it is flexible, rollable and foldable
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
Floating device which is installable as a cover on containers for the "always-full" technique, which consists of a floating, inflatable and foldable cover, being made of plastic material, preferably for foodstuffs, which can be connected to a compressor (61) by means of any type of hose (60), and which is provided with separator threads (3) in the interior thereof which allow the assembly to be made rigid, maintaining the exterior faces or edges thereof smooth, and when it is deflated, being flexible, rollable and removable, it can be reused on other containers, the present device being intended to avoid the oxidation of a liquid element such as wine, oil or even non-foodstuff liquids.