Sintered Plastic Layer on Metal Support for Urea Containers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containers for operating materials in commercial vehicles, such as those carrying urea or ADBLUE, face challenges in environmental compatibility and weight reduction, with conventional solutions often leading to metal ion contamination and inefficient use of interior space.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a sintered plastic layer made from polyurethane, polyamide, or polypropylene applied to a metal support structure, which allows for thinner walls, improved chemical inertness, and reduced weight, while eliminating the need for additional fixing devices and enabling integrated multiple container configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a metal support structure is used for container strength, then mechanical strength is improved, but weight increases and metal ion contamination occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining a metal support structure with a plastic sintered layer. The metal provides mechanical strength while the plastic layer reduces weight and prevents metal ion contamination. This composite structure resolves the contradiction by allowing the metal to fulfill its strength function without direct contact with the operating fluid.
Solution Approach 2:
The plastic sintered layer is applied locally on the inner surface of the metal support structure, creating different material properties in different regions. The metal exterior maintains structural strength while the plastic interior surface provides chemical inertness and weight reduction, allowing each material to perform its optimal function.
2Reliability
If a thick plastic coating is applied to prevent chemical reactions, then chemical inertness is improved, but interior space utilization deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a sintered plastic layer which has a porous structure. This porous material provides sufficient chemical barrier properties to prevent metal ion contamination while maintaining a thin profile that does not significantly reduce the interior volume of the container.
Solution Approach 2:
The plastic layer thickness is optimized to a specific range (0.5-2 mm) that provides adequate chemical protection while minimizing space loss. This parameter optimization resolves the contradiction between sufficient coating thickness for chemical inertness and maintaining maximum interior volume.
3Volume of moving object
If a thin plastic layer is used to maximize interior space, then volume utilization is improved, but chemical protection deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sintered plastic layer's porous structure provides effective chemical barrier properties even at thin dimensions. The porous structure creates a tortuous path for potential ion migration while maintaining thin layer thickness, thus preventing metal ion contamination without significantly reducing interior space.
4Reliability
If conventional plastic containers are used, then chemical inertness is improved, but mechanical strength and stability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite structure where the metal support structure provides mechanical strength and stability while the plastic sintered layer provides chemical inertness. This composite approach allows the container to benefit from both materials' strengths without suffering from their individual weaknesses.
5Reliability
If additional fixing devices are added to secure the plastic layer, then reliability of attachment is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The plastic sintered layer is applied directly to the metal support structure through a sintering process, creating a self-bonding attachment without requiring additional fixing devices. The sintering process causes the plastic particles to fuse together and adhere to the metal surface, providing reliable attachment through the material process itself rather than through separate mechanical fastening systems.
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 a lightweight, chemically inert container that can carry larger volumes of aggressive fluids like urea or ADBLUE solutions, reducing metal ion contamination and optimizing interior space usage, while allowing for integrated and efficient attachment to vehicle frames.
Implementation Method 1
heating the container as a whole after the supporting structure has been formed and then introducing a plastic powder into its interior, where it melts on the hot supporting structure and thus forms the sintered plastic layer
Implementation Method 2
the plastic sintered layer adheres to the supporting structure
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
The container (12) has a supporting structure (13) formed for an operating material of a plastic-sinter layer (14) at an inner side for forming a receiving space (3). The plastic-sinter layer is made up of polyurethane, polyamide or polypropylene that is adhered at the inner side of the supporting structure. The inner side of the supporting structure includes an under cut, and insertion elements (15a, 15b) extend the supporting structure through an inner space of the container. The receiving space is provided for receiving lubricant. An independent claim is also included for a method for manufacturing a container for an operating material of a motor vehicle.