Offset-Axis Drain Closure for Reliable Filter Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing filter systems face challenges in easily attaching and reliably sealing drain openings, leading to potential assembly errors and reduced sealing effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A closure element with offset central axes for the connecting and sealing segments, allowing for easy attachment and ensuring precise alignment, along with complementary projections and indentations for correct positioning, thereby enhancing sealing reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a closure element is designed with conventional symmetric alignment, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the alignment precision and sealing reliability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The closure element employs asymmetric design where the central axis of the closure segment is deliberately offset from the central axis of the connecting segment. This asymmetric configuration enables the sealing surface to align precisely with the drain opening while the connecting portion maintains a different orientation, thereby achieving both high alignment precision and sealing reliability without requiring complex additional alignment mechanisms.
2Reliability
If the closure element is designed with separate connecting and sealing segments, then the sealing reliability is improved, but the ease of operation and installation is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The closure element integrates the connecting segment and sealing segment into a single unified component with a continuous outer contour. The offset central axes of the two segments are harmoniously combined in one piece, allowing the closure element to be installed as a single unit while maintaining the functional separation between connection and sealing functions. This eliminates the need for multiple assembly steps while preserving sealing reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The offset configuration of the central axes is pre-designed into the closure element structure during manufacturing. The connecting segment and sealing segment are positioned in their correct relative orientations before installation, so that when the closure element is inserted into the drain opening, the sealing surface automatically aligns with the drain opening without requiring additional adjustment or alignment operations during installation.
3Ease of operation
If the closure element uses conventional alignment methods, then the device complexity is low, but assembly errors increase and installation becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric offset configuration of the central axes between the connecting and sealing segments creates a unique geometric signature that guides correct installation. The non-symmetric shape prevents incorrect orientation or insertion, as the closure element can only be installed in the correct position where the offset axes align properly with the drain opening geometry, thereby eliminating assembly errors without adding complex alignment mechanisms.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a closure element (100) for at least one drainage opening (210, 310) of a filter system (10), comprising a connecting segment (120) and a closure segment (140) which adjoins the latter in the longitudinal direction (x) and has at least one sealing region (142), the connecting segment (120) and the closure segment (140) each having at least one centre axis (160, 181, 182) running in the longitudinal direction (x), and at least one of the centre axes (181, 182) of the closure segment (140) being offset with respect to at least one of the centre axes (160) of the connecting segment (120). The invention further relates to a filter housing part (200), a filter element (300) for a filter system (10) and a filter system (10) having a closure element (100) for a filter system (10), a closure element (100) sealingly closing a drainage opening (210) in at least one first position and at least partially exposing the drainage opening (210) in at least one second position. The invention further relates to the use of a filter element (300) and a closure element (100) in a filter system (10).