Dual-Material Sensor Taper Seal to Eliminate Hygienic Dead Spaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
In the food technology and pharmaceutical industries, existing sensor arrangements fail to provide a reliable seal between the sensor and the holding device, risking contamination of filling materials due to potential gaps or dead spaces between the two components.
Innovation Solution
The arrangement features a sensor with a process connection that includes an external taper with two sections made from different materials, one from dielectric material and the other from metal, which forms a double annular seal when inserted into a holding device with an internal taper, eliminating the need for separate seals and enhancing the reliability of the seal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single seal is used between the sensor and holding device, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability of the seal is insufficient and contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The external taper is divided into two distinct sections with different materials (dielectric and metal), creating two separate sealing interfaces with the internal taper. This segmentation allows each section to contribute differently to the sealing function, with the dielectric section providing electrical isolation and the metal section providing mechanical sealing strength, thereby improving overall seal reliability without requiring additional separate seal components.
Solution Approach 2:
The external taper combines two different materials (dielectric and metal) in a composite structure. This composite design leverages the complementary properties of each material: the dielectric material provides electrical insulation and sealing, while the metal material provides structural strength and additional sealing capability. This resolves the contradiction by achieving enhanced seal reliability through material composition rather than through increased structural complexity.
2Reliability
If separate seals are added between sensor and holding device, then seal reliability improves, but device complexity and potential dead spaces increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function is merged into the process connection structure itself through the dual-section external taper. Instead of adding separate seal components, the sealing capability is integrated directly into the sensor's process connection by incorporating two different materials in the external taper sections. This merging approach improves seal reliability while avoiding the increased device complexity and dead spaces that would result from adding separate seal elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The dual-material external taper serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides sealing against the internal taper, electrical isolation through the dielectric section, mechanical strength through the metal section, and defines the insertion depth stop. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by achieving enhanced seal reliability without requiring additional separate components, as the same structure performs multiple critical functions.
3Reliability
If the external taper angle is made smaller for better sealing, then seal reliability improves, but insertion force and risk of damage increase
Solution Approach 1:
Different materials are assigned to different sections of the external taper based on local functional requirements. The dielectric material in the first section provides sealing and electrical isolation, while the metal material in the second section provides structural strength and facilitates insertion. This local differentiation allows the taper to achieve reliable sealing without requiring excessive insertion force, as each material is optimized for its specific role in the sealing process.
Data Source
AI summary
An arrangement of a sensor in a holding device, the holding device having a passage opening and the sensor having a process connection at least partially inside the passage device, which achieves a reliable seal between the sensor and the holding device, wherein the holding device has an internal taper in a sub-region of the passage opening and the process connection has an external taper in a sub-region, which is constructed in a manner corresponding to the internal taper of the holding device and comes to bear against the same, wherein the external taper has a first section and a second section, wherein the first section and the second section are constructed from different materials.