Marine Engine Cooling Drain Valve with Remote Cable Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Marine vessels face difficulties in draining cooling water from stern drives, as the drain cock, plug, or hose is often located at a low point, making it hard to access and risking siphoning of new water into the system during drainage.
Innovation Solution
A drain valve system connected to a control handle by a cable, which simultaneously opens and closes the drain valve and an anti-siphon vent valve, allowing air to enter the system and preventing liquid flow when not in use, is integrated into the cooling system, enabling easy drainage without manual reaching and preventing siphoning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the drain cock or plug is located at a low point of the cooling circuit to enable complete drainage, then the drainage efficiency is improved, but the accessibility for operation becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent moves the operating interface from the vertical dimension (low point in the cooling circuit) to a different spatial dimension by providing remote access to the drain valve through the engine compartment or accessible locations on the vessel. This allows the valve itself to remain at the low point for complete drainage while the operator can access controls from convenient locations.
2Productivity
If the drain valve is opened to allow water to drain by gravity, then the drainage function is achieved, but siphoning of new raw water into the system occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a vent valve as an intermediary component that mediates between the drainage process and the raw water intake system. The vent valve allows air to enter the drainage line to break the siphon effect while preventing raw water from being drawn into the system through the same vent pathway, thus protecting the system from contamination during drainage operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the venting function from the drainage process by providing a separate, dedicated vent valve that operates independently from the drain valve. This separation allows the drainage function to proceed while the extracted venting function specifically addresses the siphoning problem without interfering with the primary drainage objective.
3Reliability
If a vent is opened in the water line to prevent siphoning, then siphoning is prevented, but the system complexity increases due to additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the vent valve with existing system components or locations where possible, such as integrating it into the drainage line assembly or positioning it near the drain valve. This consolidation approach prevents siphoning while minimizing the addition of separate, standalone components that would increase overall system complexity.
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
Facilitates safe and efficient drainage of cooling water from marine engines by allowing gravity-induced flow while preventing siphoning, allowing operators to drain systems conveniently and safely without manual intervention at the low point.
Implementation Method 1
allowing the water to drain into the bilge under the force of gravity
Implementation Method 2
prevent siphoning of new raw water into the system as the draining raw water flows from the drain
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A drain system for a marine engine cooling system, includes an engine having one of a closed coolant circuit or an open cooling circuit, a raw water passageway having a raw water intake for drawing raw water into the raw water passageway, including a hose arranged to have a vertically high point and a vertically low point, a drain valve connected to the raw water passageway at the hose vertically low point, a vent line connected to the raw water passageway at the hose vertically high point and a control handle located remote from the hose vertically high point and the hose vertically low point, the control handle having a vent valve connected to the vent line, the control handle being connected to the drain valve by a cable, wherein movement of the control handle selectively simultaneously opens and closes the drain valve and the vent valve.