Modular Plastic Tank With Interlocking Ribs and Grooves
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rainwater tanks face high manufacturing, storage, transportation, and unloading costs due to the need for extrusion welding and logistical challenges of large and bulky components, which increases pricing pressure and space requirements.
Innovation Solution
The tank system consists of interlocking cuboid plastic tank parts with parallel ribs and grooves, and lugs and lug receptacles, allowing for easy assembly and stability without welding, enabling compact and lightweight components that can be stacked and transported efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a large tank is manufactured as a single unit or with welded parts, then the tank capacity is achieved, but the manufacturing cost, storage space, and transportation complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The tank is divided into multiple modular tank sections that can be produced separately and then assembled. Each tank section has a standardized capacity (e.g., 2,600 liters) and can be combined to achieve the desired total capacity (e.g., 5,000 liters), eliminating the need to manufacture and handle one large complex tank unit.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple standardized tank sections are combined through interlocking to form a complete tank system. The tank sections are designed with complementary wall area structures that mate together, allowing simple assembly without complex welding operations while achieving the required total capacity.
2Reliability
If two tank parts are connected using extrusion welding, then a sealed connection is achieved, but the production time and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The extrusion welding process is replaced with a mechanical interlocking system using wall area structures. The raised and deepened structures on adjacent tank sections mate together through simple blocking operations, eliminating the time-consuming welding process while maintaining connection reliability.
3Manufacturing precision
If tank parts are stored temporarily before welding, then proper assembly is ensured, but storage space and logistical problems increase
Solution Approach 1:
The tank sections are pre-formed with integrated wall area structures during the molding process. These structures are designed to self-align and interlock when the tank sections are brought together, eliminating the need for temporary storage and complex assembly procedures while ensuring proper alignment.
4Quantity of substance
If a large tank is transported and unloaded, then the complete tank is delivered, but handling difficulty and unloading problems increase
Solution Approach 1:
The large tank is segmented into multiple smaller tank sections that can be transported and handled independently. Each section is of manageable size and weight, allowing standard handling equipment to be used without requiring specialized heavy-lift equipment for unloading.
Solution Approach 2:
The tank sections are designed to nest within each other during transport and storage. The interlocking wall area structures allow one tank section to be placed inside another, maximizing space utilization and simplifying logistics while maintaining the capability to assemble the complete tank system at the destination.
Data Source
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AI summary
A plastics, two-part water storage tank (T) has identical parts (TT) each with at least paired molded interlocking wall-structures (S) and tightly interlocking with the wall-structures (S) at the insertion point.