Retractable Portable Ignitor for Hard-to-Reach Pilot Flame Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing portable ignitors are limited in their ability to reach pilot flames in hard-to-reach areas, such as low or high clearance locations, leading to safety risks and potential equipment damage.
Innovation Solution
The development of retractable and extendable portable ignitor systems that include telescoping or threaded body portions, allowing for dynamic length adjustment and improved maneuverability to access previously inaccessible areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If a fixed-length portable ignitor is used, then the device structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the ignitor cannot reach pilot flames in hard-to-reach areas such as low or high clearance locations
Solution Approach 1:
The ignitor employs a telescopic mechanism with multiple extendable sections that can be manually extended or retracted to achieve variable lengths. This dynamic structure allows the ignitor to adapt to different reach requirements while maintaining a compact form when retracted, resolving the contradiction between length adjustability and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The telescopic ignitor consists of nested tubular sections that slide within each other, similar to a nested doll structure. When retracted, the sections are compact; when extended, they provide increased reach. This nesting principle enables length variation without proportionally increasing the overall device complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed-length portable ignitor is used, then the manufacturing cost is low, but the ignitor lacks adaptability for various clearance conditions and requires multiple ignitors
Solution Approach 1:
The telescopic ignitor serves multiple functions by providing variable length adjustment, allowing a single device to handle various clearance conditions (low clearance, high clearance, standard reach) that would otherwise require multiple specialized ignitors. This universal design improves adaptability while keeping the structural complexity manageable through the use of standard telescopic mechanisms.
3Ease of operation
If technicians use improvised unstandardized methods to reach hard-to-reach areas, then they can access difficult locations, but safety risks and equipment damage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The telescopic mechanism provides a controlled and standardized method for extending the ignitor length, replacing improvised and unsafe techniques. The structured extension mechanism ensures stable handling and precise positioning, enhancing both ease of operation and safety by eliminating unstandardized practices.
Solution Approach 2:
The ignitor's telescopic design enables the operator to self-adjust the length to match the specific task requirements, providing appropriate reach for each situation without external assistance or improvised tools. This self-adjusting capability ensures safe and standardized operation across various scenarios.
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 adjustable length of the ignitor system enables a single device to effectively light burners in various industrial equipment, enhancing safety and reducing the risk of equipment damage by providing improved access to hard-to-reach areas.
Implementation Method 1
telescoping body portions that are slidable relative to one another to provide telescopic extension and retraction
Implementation Method 2
the main body may include threaded body portions that may be rotated relative to one another along suitable threaded connectors to provide threaded extension and retraction
Implementation Method 3
the ignitor may include sealing elements fitted to the main body to form a flow path for fuel gas with inner surfaces of the main body
Implementation Method 4
Certain embodiments also include an electric sparking assembly that improves processes for lighting the fuel gas at the distal end of the ignitor
Implementation Method 5
which may combust a fuel that flows into the burner and release heat
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods herein provide retractable and extendable portable ignitors, ignitor systems, and associated methods for lighting industrial fired equipment. In an embodiment, an ignitor includes a main body including a first body portion movable in a longitudinal direction relative to a second body portion so as to extend or retract to a target operating length, thereby to define an adjustable main body. The ignitor includes a flow path extending through the adjustable main body, a fluid outlet, and a fluid inlet. The fluid inlet is configured to receive and direct a fuel flow through the flow path and to the fluid outlet. The ignitor includes a sparking assembly connected to the adjustable main body proximate the fluid outlet to provide an ignition spark to the fuel flow when passing through the flow path, thereby to facilitate lighting industrial fired equipment via a fueled flame maintained proximate the fluid outlet.