Modular Mixing Unit With Replaceable Injector
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mixing units in cleaning devices for the food processing industry are cumbersome and difficult to maintain due to built-in injectors that require disassembly of the piping system for access and replacement, leading to inefficiencies in cleaning heavily soiled surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A compact and modular mixing unit design with a housing that allows easy access and replacement of injectors, featuring a liquid inlet, gas inlet, and a cleaning agent inlet, where the injector can be inserted from the side, reducing the need for complex connections and allowing for easier maintenance without disassembling the piping system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If injectors are built-in to a piping system, then the mixing unit can deliver foam effectively, but the injector becomes difficult to access for maintenance and replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The mixing unit is divided into separable modules: the housing containing the piping system and the injector as a distinct, removable component. This segmentation allows the injector to be accessed and replaced independently without disassembling the entire piping system, resolving the contradiction between maintaining reliable foam delivery and enabling easy injector repair.
Solution Approach 2:
The injector is extracted from the integrated piping structure and positioned externally on the housing. This extraction allows the injector to be removed and replaced easily while the housing and piping system remain intact, maintaining foam delivery effectiveness while improving accessibility for maintenance.
2Ease of repair
If the piping system is disassembled to access the injector, then the injector can be replaced, but the maintenance time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the injector from the piping system into a separate, externally mounted component, the injector can be replaced quickly without the time-consuming process of disassembling the entire piping system, directly reducing maintenance time while maintaining ease of repair.
Solution Approach 2:
The injector is pre-configured with connection interfaces that allow for quick attachment and detachment from the housing. This preliminary design of easy-connect interfaces enables rapid injector replacement without requiring complex disassembly procedures, reducing maintenance time.
3Reliability
If complex connections are used in the mixing unit, then the foam production can be optimized, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The injector with its internal mixing and foam generation mechanisms is extracted as a standalone component. This allows complex foam production functionality to be achieved within the injector itself while keeping the overall connection system between the housing and injector simple and straightforward.
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 enables simpler, more efficient access and replacement of injectors, reducing maintenance time and improving hygiene standards in food processing environments by minimizing the need for welding and complex connections, while maintaining effective foam production for cleaning.
Implementation Method 1
the injector having injector body with a first end and a second end opposite to the first end and a longitudinal axis; an injector inlet; an injector outlet formed/arranged through the second end; and an injector liquid inlet; which injector inlet is fluidly connectable to the cleaning agent inlet of the housing, which injector liquid inlet is fluidly connectable to the liquid inlet/water inlet of the housing
Data Source
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AI summary
A mixing unit (9) for supplying foam for cleaning, the mixing unit (9) comprising: a housing (10) having a liquid inlet (43) for receiving pressurized water, a gas inlet (53) for receiving pressurized air, a fluid outlet (44) for delivering said foam, a cleaning agent inlet (39), and an injector receiving bay/port (70) for receiving an injector (100); the mixing unit (9) further comprising an injector (100), the injector (100) having - an injector body (101) with a first end (102) and a second end (103) opposite to the first end (102), and a longitudinal axis (A); - an injector inlet (115); - an injector outlet (113) formed through the second end (103); and - an injector liquid inlet (124); which injector inlet (115) is fluidly connectable to the cleaning agent inlet (39) of the housing (10), which injector liquid inlet (124) is fluidly connectable to the liquid inlet (43) of the housing (10), and which injector outlet (113) is fluidly connected to the fluid outlet (44) of the housing (10), wherein the injector liquid inlet (124) is in a direction transverse to the a longitudinal axis (A) of the injector (100).